Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge port sees sharp surge in vehicle crossings during May Day holiday

The total number of vehicles passing through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge's Zhuhai port exceeded 120,000 during the five-day May Day holiday from May 1 to 5, a sharp year-on-year increase of 44 percent, according to customs data.

According to the data released by the customs office on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the peak traffic volume through the port during the May Day holiday came at 15:00 to 19:00 on Monday. The daily number of vehicles passing through the port exceeded 28,000 on the day, a year-on-year increase of 50 percent, once again setting a new record for the port.

As of Monday, the total number of single-license plate vehicles from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions that have passed through the port this year has exceeded 1.3 million, an increase of 34 percent over the same period of last year. Self-driving tours to cities around Guangdong Province and cross-border family visits by Hong Kong and Macao residents have become the main driving force for the growth of traffic through the mega bridge.

"I come back from time to time and go through the port each time. Sometimes we go to Zhuhai to have dishes. This time we are passing through the port for a trip to cities of Guangzhou, Zhaoqing and Dongguan," said a resident from Hong Kong.

In order to ensure smooth and orderly customs clearance during the holiday, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs has strengthened coordination and collaboration with various other ports and the relevant departments in Hong Kong and Macao to improve customs clearance service.

"At present, the customs clearance time for vehicles with no abnormality and no need for inspection does not exceed 10 seconds. We have built the country's first intelligent top-lighting image review system for passenger cars, which shortens the vehicle inspection time by about 30 percent," said Feng Wenjun, chief of the No.1 supervision section of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs Office.

Stretching more than 55 kilometers, the bridge links Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Macao SAR and the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province. It is the world's longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge port sees sharp surge in vehicle crossings during May Day holiday

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.

"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.

This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.

By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.

China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.

The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.

"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.

China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting