The Chinese Ministry of Transport is aiming to cut logistics costs throughout society by 300 billion yuan (about 41 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, it said at a press briefing on Friday.
The ministry will speed up the construction of major projects it has listed for improvement of the national comprehensive multidimensional transportation network next year, Vice Minister of Transport Li Yang told the press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing.
"We expect to cut logistics costs of the whole society by 300 billion yuan (about 41 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, which will bring strong support to the growth of the real economy, especially the manufacturing sector. Transportation is a part of the logistics costs for the whole society, which mainly include transportation costs, storage costs and management costs. We hope that by giving play to the advantages of the integrated transportation system and promoting the shift of freight transport from roads to railways and waterways, we can better contribute to reducing costs, upgrading quality and increasing efficiency," said the official.
In 2025, the Ministry of Transport will promote further reform of the integrated transportation system, advance reform of the railway system, and accelerate the development of general aviation and the low-altitude economy, the official said.
China aims to cut logistics costs by 41 billion USD in 2025: official
At least 15 people were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, according to Lebanese official sources.
At least one child was among those killed and several children were among those injured in the strikes, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and the National News Agency.
The Israeli army on Saturday morning ordered residents of southern Lebanese towns to evacuate before conducting airstrikes and demolishing homes.
Israeli attacks and airstrikes in Lebanon since March 2 had killed 2,795 people and injured 8,586 others, according to the latest data released by the Emergency Operations Center of Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it launched a rocket barrage overnight targeting a gathering of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers along the Lebanon-Israel border, in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group was in a "defensive position" against Israeli "aggression" and warned that Israel should expect a response whenever it targets Lebanese villages or Beirut's southern suburbs. An Israeli soldier was seriously injured, and two others moderately injured in Israeli territory near the Lebanese border by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah on Saturday, according to a statement issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The soldiers were rushed to a hospital, the statement said, adding that additional explosive drones launched by Hezbollah fell in Israeli territory near the border, without causing any casualties.
Another explosive drone hit an unmanned IDF engineering vehicle in southern Lebanon, with no casualties reported, the IDF said, adding that its air force intercepted several projectiles launched by Hezbollah toward Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon.
The exchanges of fire came despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that took effect last month following weeks of cross-border fighting tied to broader regional tensions triggered by the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
15 killed in Israeli strikes in S. Lebanon
