47th Chinese naval escort taskforce departs for Gulf of Aden

China

47th Chinese naval escort taskforce departs for Gulf of Aden

2024-12-15 17:24 Last Updated At：12-16 00:07

The 47th Chinese naval escort taskforce set sail from a port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday, heading for the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to replace the 46th escort taskforce.

The escort fleet is composed of guided-missile destroyer Baotou, guided-missile frigate Honghe, and comprehensive supply ship Gaoyouhu from the Eastern Theater Command.

The task force is also equipped with two onboard helicopters and includes over 700 personnel, consisting of elite special force members.

During the preparation for the mission, the task force focused on meeting the core requirements for escort capabilities. The team conducted targeted training exercises, including night-time helicopter landings, joint search and rescue operations, armed rescue of hijacked merchant vessels, counter-terrorism, anti-piracy drills, and inspections of suspected vessels. This rigorous training aimed to enhance the synergy between various operational parts and boost the overall mission effectiveness of the task force.

"In addition to improving my physical fitness and operational skills, I also studied naval etiquette and the history and culture of countries along our route," said Fu Shun, one of the special force members.

"I worked on improving spare parts availability, practical skills training, and emergency response drills to ensure that I can effectively handle unexpected situations," said Wu Haoqiang, a member of the task force.

"This is my second time participating in an escort mission. From honing my professional skills to handling equipment requisition, inventory checks, and emergency response procedures, I am committed to fulfilling my responsibilities diligently in this trusted role," said another member Lan Jianping.

Int'l observers hail China's economic performance in Q1

International observers lauded China's economic performance in the first quarter of 2026, highlighting its robust high-tech industries and resilient supply chain.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026, getting off to a good start, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Thursday.

The country's GDP reached 33.4 trillion yuan (about 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars) during this period, the NBS data showed.

In the first quarter, "the growth of production and supply accelerated, market demand continued to improve, employment was generally stable, market prices picked up moderately, and high-quality development advanced with new and positive momentum," the NBS said in a statement.

"We've seen Chinese GDP increase 5 percent for the first quarter of 2026, a bit of a rebound from the 4.5 percent recorded at the end of last year and strongly being driven by not only imports and exports, but predominantly a large focus on an increase in manufactured goods, particularly in the likes of vehicles, cars as well as other technologies," said Brad Olsen, an economist from New Zealand.

Khalid Taimur Akram, executive director of the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future in Islamabad, said China's complete control over the supply chain makes it largely unaffected by external challenges.

"China is performing really well and the first quarter also the Chinese GDP growth is very, very gradual. And I go to a lot of places and people ask me that the complete world is in problem, but how come China is having a very steady growth? China has a complete control over the supply chain. Now all the supply chain of the things China has it," he said.