China boasts 52 world-class fully automated terminals: vice minister

China has built 52 fully automated terminals, with the application scale, operating efficiency and technical level ranking among the top in the world, said Vice Minister of Transport Li Yang in Beijing on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference, Li said that China's Shanghai Port became the first port in the world to achieve an annual container throughput exceeding 50 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on Dec. 22, a breakthrough signifying that China's port development has reached a new height.

"The operation efficiency, service level and service capacity of China's ports are world-class. I would like to take the port operation efficiency as an example. In China, the average in-port period of an international cargo ship is 1.42 days, and the berth period of an international cargo ship is 0.87 days. From January to November this year, the ports in China completed a cargo throughput of 16.04 billion tons, with the throughput in the entire year expected to reach 17.5 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent. In the first 11 months, China's container throughput reached 300 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 7.3 percent," he said.

China has been investing in and constructing a number of major port projects, including the largest commercial vehicle roll-on and roll-off terminal on the Yangtze River, built in the Taicang Port in Suzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province, as well as inland port terminals in Chongqing and Anhui, according to Li.

"So far this year, China's investment in port construction has remained high. From January to November, the investment in ports reached 122.3 billion yuan (about 16.76 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percent. The function of ports as hubs linking land and water transport has been further strengthened. China's maritime connectivity has always maintained a global lead, thanks to the improvement of port service capabilities and port network set-up in the country. Besides, China has been accelerating the development of port rail-water transport. From January to November, the volume of intermodal rail-water freight reached 10.63 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of about 15 percent," said Li. "China has been accelerating green and smart transformation of the ports across the country. The clean energy utilization rate of trucks that transport containers in China's 11 international hub seaports has exceeded 60 percent, and the green transportation rate of bulk cargo such as coal and ore in major coastal ports has exceeded 85 percent, which has played a significant role in purifying the air of ports and surrounding cities. China has built 52 fully automated terminals, with the application scale, operating efficiency and technical level ranking among the top in the world," he said.

China boasts 52 world-class fully automated terminals: vice minister

Any escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran would bring catastrophic results for regional security and beyond, said the spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Ansari urged both sides to exercise restraint and find diplomatic solutions to settle differences.

"We know that any escalation of the sort that you describe would have catastrophic results in the region and beyond. And therefore, we want to avoid that as much as possible. The talks continue, our calls continue. There is no specific effort that I can point to right now, but we are involved in talking to all parties, obviously, with our neighbors and our partners in the region to find a diplomatic solution," Ansari said.

Ansari stated that Qatar has been working to mediate the rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Qatar maintains that the only viable way to resolve the issue is through dialogue, specifically a comprehensive and inclusive process that fully considers the concerns of countries in the region and relevant international parties, he said.

He emphasized that the dialogues should include all issues, including the nuclear issue, in the discussion.

Qatar will continue to maintain close communication with its regional partners and is committed to promoting a solution to the issue through diplomatic means, Ansari said.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Tuesday that Russia strongly condemns external interference in Iran's internal affairs, and the U.S. threat to launch a military strike against Iran are "categorically unacceptable."

Zakharova stated that Iran has suffered from illegal Western sanctions for many years, hindering national development and creating economic and social problems affecting ordinary citizens. Foreign forces hostile to Iran are attempting to exploit the escalating tensions within Iranian society to destabilize the Iranian regime.

The illegal sanctions imposed by the West have been impeding Iran's development for many years, which also triggers economic and social problems that impact ordinary Iranians, Zakharova noted.

Russia also firmly rejects the attempts to blackmail Iran's foreign partners through increasing trade tariffs, she said.

Any escalation of US-Iran conflict to bring 'catastrophic results' for regional security: Qatar foreign ministry