China increases investment in cold chain logistics infrastructure

Investments in cold chain infrastructure, including cold storage facilities and refrigerated containers, are experiencing rapid growth in China, laying a strong foundation for the swift revival of cold chain logistics, industrial data showed.

The total investment and construction of China's cold chain logistics infrastructure in the first three months of this year surged 20 percent from the last year, according to China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Sunday.

Among these infrastructure, intelligent temperature control facilities and equipment have been adopted by logistics companies across the country to reduce loss of packaged agricultural products and food and ensure the safety of these products in transportation.

A train loaded with 230 tons of frozen chicken bound for Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday embarked on its maiden trip from the China-Europe Freight Train (Shenyang) Assembly Center in northeast China's Liaoning Province. To ensure the smooth transportation of the frozen meat to its destination, the assembly center applied plug-in refrigerated containers that support manual temperature control throughout the entire journey.

"Since this year, we have continued to increase investment in related equipment and facilities based on market developments and customers' transportation needs. We have also continued to launch new products for China-Europe freight train services," said Li Haiping, deputy director of operations department at the assembly center.

Meanwhile, the country has seen a significant surge in investment in cold storage warehousing. In the first quarter, the investment in national cold chain warehousing projects amounted to approximately 14.7 billion yuan (around 2.07 billion U.S. dollars), up 22.5 percent year on year. During the same period, the demand for rental cold chain warehouses in China exceeded 510,000 square meters, with a year-on-year increase of around 10 percent.

"Currently, investment is now mainly in cold storage facilities construction. Generally speaking, there is a periodic surplus, but some structural demands are still insufficient. Therefore, some of our current investments primarily focus on rectifying these structural shortcomings and enhancing the overall completeness of our cold chain infrastructure," explained Cui Zhongfu, deputy chief, China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

China increases investment in cold chain logistics infrastructure

Israeli military operation has stimulated worsening displacement crisis in Gaza, miring displaced civilians in stern and harsh living and security conditions, in the devastating aftermath of Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives in Rafah.

The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip announced Saturday that teams recovered nine bodies and rescued several wounded victims, including a child, from an Israeli bombing attack on a house in the middle of the enclave. Witnesses have said Israeli shelling led to the destruction of the house and caused extensive damage to homes and property.

The Israeli forces on Saturday expanded its simultaneous ground and air attacks across Gaza following its demand to evacuate residents from large areas in the northern and central regions.

Since the onset of the ground operations in the Rafah area, hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been trying to flee from the area.

Around 300,000 have already fled from Rafah. However the areas they are moving to had mostly been turned into rubble in previous attacks, with practically no infrastructure, water supply, food supply, or medical points to provide decent healthcare. Yet people are moving to that rubble for the sake of fleeing the ongoing bombardment and devastation. Those who are not moving are extremely fearful of the imminent death and destruction that might come for them once again.

"They threw evacuation leaflets at us. We fled from Rafah to the city of Deir al-Balah in search of safety, but unfortunately we did not find any safety here. Even our economic conditions have now become very difficult and we no longer have anything. Our lives have become harsh in all aspects," said Sherine al-Attar, a displaced Palestinian in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah.

"The school in which we lived was subjected to severe bombardment. We fled from there under the shrapnel of shells. We searched for any safe place we could reach to protect our children. After much difficulty, we arrived in Deir al-Balah to join the rest of our family here," said Fatima Rayhan, another displaced Palestinian.

Israeli military operation stimulates worsening displacement crisis in Gaza