Emergency medical aid continued Wednesday night in quake-hit Dingri County, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, to assess victims' health and provide assistance after a powerful earthquake on Tuesday morning.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in Xigaze City at 9:05 on Tuesday, causing at least 126 deaths and injuring 188 others.
At a relocation site in Changsuo Township, Dingri County, where 329 affected people have been settled, members of the national medical emergency response teams visited each household to check on their conditions and provide targeted medical treatment.
Since most of the affected people speak Tibetan and do not understand Mandarin, local rescuers also acted as interpreters to help the medical team better communicate with those in need of help. "Our rescue work faces many challenges because of language barriers and the lack of knowledge of the habits and customs of the local ethnic group. Therefore, I hope there are local comrades familiar with these can give us some support," said Zhu Wei, a team head.
During their nighttime visits, medical rescuers not only provided physical help but also offered emotional support to earthquake victims who were still suffering from the shock of the disaster.
"Everything will be fine, don't worry. Please contact us anytime you need help. Our medical post is in the resettlement area. If you need help, come to us anytime, and we'll also come back for more visits," Zhu said to a 77-year-old villager.
In addition to medical workers, all parties involved in the relief effort, such as the police and supply transporters, have been working tirelessly late into the night with such dedication that made the chilly winter feel warmer.
Medical aid for quake victims in Xizang continues late into night
As China and the United Kingdom resume their economic and financial dialogue after a five-year hiatus, banking giant Standard Chartered is poised to play a pivotal role in facilitating trade and investment flows between the two countries, as well as the global market, said Jose Vinals, group chairman of the British multinational bank.
The 11th edition of the dialogue, set to take place in Beijing on Saturday, will be co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. This will be the first meeting since 2018, underscoring the importance of restoring high-level discussions at a time of growing global economic uncertainty.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Friday, Vinals expressed optimism about the dialogue's potential to foster broader cooperation. He highlighted the alignment of interests between China and the UK in key areas such as trade, sustainability and combating climate change.
"I think that the fact that this economic and financial dialogue between China and the UK is happening after an interruption of five years is most important. China and the UK, and many other countries, have an interest in continuing to foster open cross-border trade and investment flows. You also have common interest in things like promoting the green and sustainability agenda at a time when the world is challenged by climate warming and things like that. So, these are areas of significant common interests, and where cooperation between China and the UK is critical, but also cooperation between China and many other economies in the world," he said.
As part of its strategy to support this agenda, Standard Chartered sees itself as a critical intermediary in strengthening economic ties between China and the UK. The bank is also expanding its role as a connector between China and global markets.
"Standard Chartered has a key role to play as a super connector between China and the UK, and between China and the rest of the world. We are connecting China to the rest of the world by helping Chinese companies, both financial institutions and corporates, do business outside of China. We are also helping Chinese individuals with wealth management and diversifying their wealth across different products, both onshore and offshore. But we're also helping bring the rest of the world to China in the sense of bringing Chinese opportunities to our international investors, and then helping multinational companies who want to do more business in China or set up shop in China, do business here," Vinals said.
Standard Chartered seeks to strengthen China-UK ties as economic dialogue resumes
