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170 mln trips expected on 1st day of China's Spring Festival travel rush

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      China

      China

      170 mln trips expected on 1st day of China's Spring Festival travel rush

      2025-01-15 09:15 Last Updated At:17:57

      China’s Ministry of Transport estimated that more than 170 million passenger trips were made across the country on Tuesday, the first day of China's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush.

      Of the total, 10.3 million trips were made via railway, 159.52 million trips via highway, 530,000 trips via waterway, and 2.04 million trips via civil aviation.

      During the Spring Festival travel period, more than 14,000 passenger trains are scheduled daily across the national railway network, adding 500,000 seats per day to increase transport capacity by approximately 4 percent year on year.

      On the "Lei Feng" train operated by China Railway Shenyang Group, crew members provide page devices to key passengers. When passengers need assistance, they can press the button, and crew members will respond promptly.

      At Putian railway station in east China's Fujian Province, new caring and priority access lanes have been added, along with dedicated reservation counters for migrant workers.

      "Two additional security check channels have been added, and eight volunteers have been assigned to provide service and guidance, ensuring more convenient travel for passengers," said Lu Dan, a staff member at Putian railway station.

      On highways, it is estimated that during the Spring Festival travel period, new energy vehicles (NEVs) will account for about 19 percent of the average daily traffic, a significant increase compared with the same period in 2024.

      At the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Service Area on the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway where traffic is relatively busier, the local power department has deployed 48 charging stations and added two emergency charging vehicles to ensure smooth travel for NEV drivers.

      In terms of waterways, a comprehensive reservation system has been implemented for passenger ferry transportation across the Qiongzhou Strait during this busy travel period.

      "We implement 24-hour, all-day monitoring to track capacity usage. When the numbers of vehicle and passenger reservations exceed 70 percent of the daily capacity arrangements, we recommend that companies adjust by increasing ferry frequency to best meet the needs of cross-border passengers and vehicles," said Zhang Haibin, deputy director of the Haikou Maritime Safety Administration.

      The Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 29 this year, is the country's grandest traditional festival when people across the country return to their hometowns for Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations and family reunions.

      170 mln trips expected on 1st day of China's Spring Festival travel rush

      170 mln trips expected on 1st day of China's Spring Festival travel rush

      170 mln trips expected on 1st day of China's Spring Festival travel rush

      170 mln trips expected on 1st day of China's Spring Festival travel rush

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      Trump's tougher foreign policy threatens South Korea's economy: experts

      2025-01-26 01:48 Last Updated At:02:17

      South Korean experts have warned that the United States' new tougher foreign policy under President Donald Trump poses a threat to the East Asian country's economy which has already suffered a slowdown in growth amid an ongoing political crisis.

      Trump is expected to take a hard line on trade and diplomacy with South Korea. He wants the Asian partner to pay more for the stationing of over 28,000 U.S. troops in the country, while their trilateral security relationship with Japan is also likely to take a back seat under the newly inaugurated president.

      Trump's tariff-driven approach could also see South Korea diversify its markets away from the U.S. With an export-driven economy, according to experts.

      "Trump seems to be backing off on some of his remarks, but I think it is fairly definite that he will impose tariffs on a wide range of products as he has emphasized again and again that he has faith in the power of tariffs which virtually no economist shares," said Yang Jun-sok, a professor of economics at Catholic University of Korea.

      There is also concern that Trump's policies will be inflationary, making it hard for countries like South Korea to cut key lending rates, along with an expectation that Trump's second term will cause a global slowdown and add to the pain of South Korea's already sluggish economy.

      Another big concern for South Korea is security, some experts hold that Trump made no progress with de-nuclearization on the peninsula during his first term. Until last month, the U.S. had been expected to green-light South Korea's request to lift restrictions on reprocessing nuclear materials.

      "I don't think there's a reasonable chance for the Trump administration to actually allow South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons because of the martial law declaration and the political chaos that ensued after the declaration," said Bong Young-shik, a research fellow at Yonsei University.

      The expert also noted that the political paralysis in South Korea caused by martial law since early December and the arrest of President Yoon Suk-yeol pose problems for Trump.

      "The main challenge must be the absence of reliable and responsible leadership," Bong added.

      New U.S. policy finds Seoul struggling with political turmoil, and follows extended national medical strikes. That's also the biggest concern in South Korea. Experts have warned that the political uncertainty is adding to market jitters.

      "The political turmoil comes on top of that risk and it's making the capital markets, the financial markets very nervous, it's also beginning to make the export market a bit nervous as well," said Yang.

      Trump's tougher foreign policy threatens South Korea's economy: experts

      Trump's tougher foreign policy threatens South Korea's economy: experts

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