Temporary housing set up in quake-hit Xizang as relief work continues

Relief efforts are continuing following Tuesday's deadly earthquake in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with prefabricated houses being set up at resettlement sites to shelter displaced residents while more specialist rescue and medical teams continue to arrive at the affected areas.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County of Xigaze on Tuesday morning, with at least 126 people confirmed to have lost their lives and 188 others injured, while over 3,600 homes have collapsed.

In the badly-hit Gurong Village of Dingri, the first batch of 34 prefabricated houses have been delivered to a resettlement site, with these temporary buildings being erected to house affected residents.

The situation has been complicated by large temperature fluctuations, with overnight temperatures in some areas reportedly falling as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius, while ongoing tremors are also being experienced in the region, with over 1,000 aftershocks being felt in the wake of Tuesday's quake.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Emergency Management has mobilized rescue teams to support the disaster-stricken areas. Currently, six teams from some state-owned enterprises, comprising 629 personnel and 241 machines, are engaging in rescue operations in the affected areas.

In addition, a national tunneling rescue team of 21 members and the first batch of five specialist personnel from an emergency medical rescue team have also arrived to provide assistance to injured victims in the disaster area.

The ministry also deployed a Wing Loong-2 large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday to ensure communication and carry out disaster reconnaissance.

Furthermore, two Mi-171 transport helicopters have also been dispatched to Xigaze's Lhatse County to support the ongoing rescue efforts.

Temporary housing set up in quake-hit Xizang as relief work continues

China's sharp countermeasures against U.S. "reciprocal tariffs" demonstrate the country's zero tolerance towards actions that undermine the global multilateral trading system, according to an expert.

Amid widespread opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs", imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all imported goods and higher rates on certain trading partners. The order took effect from Saturday.

For China, it faces a 34-percent tariff from the United States. That was on top of the existing tariff of 20 percent.

Following the U.S. decision to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese exports to the United States, China's Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Friday that the move taken by the U.S. does not conform to international trade rules, seriously undermines China's legitimate rights and interests, and represents a typical act of unilateral bullying.

It also announced that China will impose additional 34-percent tariffs on all products imported from the United States starting from April 10.

Wang Yaojing, assistant professor of economics with Peking University, pointed out that China's countermeasures shows its clear stance in opposing unilateralism and protectionism.

"China's countermeasures clearly demonstrate zero tolerance against actions that seek to undermine the global multilateral trading ecosystem. These harmful moves have far-reaching consequences for the global economy. And China's countermeasures are both well-prepared and timely," Wang emphasized.

China’s countermeasures show zero tolerance towards US unilateralism, protectionism: expert