The People's Liberation Army (PLA), People's Armed Police Force, and reserve military have been sparing no efforts in searching and rescuing survivors after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning. Command personnel from the PLA Western Theater Command arrived at the Dingri Airport aboard the domestically developed Y-20 transport aircraft at around 17:00.
The Y-20, with a maximum takeoff weight of around 200 tonnes, is well-suited for transporting cargo and personnel over long distances.
The PLA's Xizang Military Comand dispatched three medical teams with 70 medics to the quake-hit county, carrying emergency medicines and medical equipment.
A total of 143 tents, 49 sets of heating equipment, 18 generators, and 227 folding beds have been allocated to ensure that survivors can spend the nights warmly. The People's Armed Police Force Xizang Contingent have deployed nearly 600 officers and soldiers to the worst-hit areas of Dingri for rescue. So far, the armed police officers have resettled more than 120 residents, freed 32 buried people, and provided medical treatment to 12 people. "We immediately started earthquake relief and rescue work after arriving at the epicenter. Now we have preliminarily completed the transfer of the affected people and the injured. For the next step, we will spare no effort in searching and rescuing survivors, and providing medical treatment to the injured people. We will set up tents, and ensure hot food supply and medical services, so that residents here can safely spend the first night after the earthquake on such a cold plateau," said Chen Li, a PLA officer.
The PLA's Xizang Military Comand has deployed a second batch of over 800 emergency rescuers. In addition, more than 2,200 professional rescuers like sappers and chemical defense soldiers are on standby to provide reinforcements.
Six helicopters are also on standby for the follow-up rescue.
The earthquake hit Dingri County in the city of Xigaze at 09:05 on Tuesday, with the epicenter located in Tsogo Township of Dingri. A total of 95 people had been confirmed dead and 130 others injured as of 15:00 Tuesday.
Chinese military, armed police rescuers rush to quake-hit areas in Xizang
A conference on sustainable development cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states concluded with the signing of 18 key projects worth a total of 4.795 billion yuan (about 655.5 million U.S. dollars) on Thursday in north China's Tianjin Municipality.
The projects, covering new energy, new materials, infrastructure, and automotive supply chains, are expected to boost practical cooperation among member states.
Nearly 400 guests, including officials and enterprises from SCO member states, attended the opening session. The conference is part of a series of activities ahead of the upcoming SCO summit in China this autumn.
The agreements involve eight countries, including the UAE, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Notable projects include a 200-megawatt transformer substation in Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone and a collaboration between the UAE and Tianjin Municipality to help local enterprises expand overseas.
Ahmed El Homosani, CEO of the Sczone Utilities, highlighted the importance of the power substation project in attracting quality investments. "What we are going to sign is a framework agreement regarding building a new substation, 200 mega of electricity power. It will attract more and better investments," he said.
Meanwhile, Avinash Jagetiya, CEO of UAE's Sun Management Consulting, emphasized the significance of the cooperation agreement with Tianjin. "Yes, I'm certainly looking forward to this conference and that is the reason I'm here. And in this conference also we are going to sign an MOU (Memorandum of understanding) with Tianjing government. And this project is a step forward in serving the Tianjin enterprises and expanding their footprints and overseas market," he said. The conference also featured specialized sessions on energy, infrastructure, and mining cooperation. Energy cooperation was a focal point, with representatives from Kyrgyzstan noting increased interest from Chinese investors in energy projects.
"At present, a large number of Chinese investors are directly engaged with Kyrgyzstan's State Investment Agency for energy projects, including hydropower, solar and wind power plants," said Maksatbek Botoyarov, chief specialist of the Department of Investment Attraction and Regional Development of Kyrgyzstan.
Participants, including representatives from traditional energy firm LONGi, expressed commitments to increasing investments in the new energy sector and exploring green transformation pathways with SCO members.
"Over the years, we have developed green electricity and green hydrogen products and technical solutions to help these SCO countries achieve their sustainable development and energy transition. We are also actively communicating with the Kazakh government to formulate specific plans and programs for implementation," said Shi Shufeng, marketing director of LONGi's Central and East African Market.
SCO sustainable development conference secures 18 projects involving nearly 4.8 bln yuan
