China firmly objects to attempts from any country to sow discord in the Taiwan Strait and opposes the groundless accusations made by Japan against the normal drills of Chinese military, said Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the China's Ministry of National Defense on Friday.
According to media reports, a Japanese destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait in early February. Japanese official said they would not talk about it as it refers to the operation of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force but expressed concerns over increasing activities of Chinese military drills near Japan, saying the country will face it with calm and resolution.
"China respects all countries' right to navigation in accordance with international law, but firmly opposes attempts from any country to sow discord in Taiwan Strait, infringe on China's sovereignty and security, and send wrong signal to the separatist forces in Taiwan," said Zhang.
"I want to point out that the activities of Chinese military in related waters and airspace are consistent with international law and universal practice. They are legitimate, reasonable and beyond reproach. China firmly opposes Japan's groundless accusations against China's normal military drills," he said.
China refutes Japan’s groundless accusations against its normal military drills
China refutes Japan’s groundless accusations against its normal military drills
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in north China exported a total of over 207 billion yuan (nearly 29 billion U.S.dollars) worth of goods in the first two months of this year, hitting a record high for the same period in history.
Last Wednesday, a freight train fully loaded with goods made in Hebei Province departed a station in Jize County, Handan City.
As the first freight train departing from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and heading towards the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, it helps cut the transportation time by 20 percent.
"The train will operate between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and Vietnam, and will mainly carry export goods to Vietnam, including those to be transshipped via that country," said Gong Yanjie, head of a supply chain enterprise based in Hebei.
The increased export was driven by private entrepreneurs in particular, whose export value reached over 23 billion yuan (over 3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months, marking a 35-percent growth.
"The foreign trade of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region posted strong resilience due to three factors. Firstly, the region has been deepening its institutional opening up, with free trade zones making coordinated plans to help increase the customs clearance efficiency by over 20 percent. Secondly, the region has noticeable advantage in industrial chain, with sectors like automobile and medical industries posting exponential export growth. Thirdly, private enterprises in the region unleashed their vitality and have become a bedrock in maintaining the stability of foreign trade," said Liu Weiheng, deputy head of the comprehensive business division of Beijing Customs.
Customs statistics showed that the foreign trade of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has been increasing steadily. Last year, the total import and export value of the region reached 5.03 trillion yuan (about 0.7 trillion U.S. dollars), maintaining growth for four consecutive years.
Export of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region surpasses 207 bln yuan in first two months
