The open-water passenger ferry services between Heihe in northeast China and Blagoveshchensk in Russia officially resumed on Wednesday, marking the end of the seasonal hovercraft operations during the spring period when ice on the Heilongjiang River, also known as the Amur River, melts away.
On the first day of services, China and Russia each deployed a passenger vessel, with each ship capable of carrying 240 passengers, ten times the capacity of the hovercrafts used earlier in the season, ensuring sufficient transport capacity.
As the summer tourism season approaches, the ferry service is set to play a key role in strengthening China-Russia regional ties and cross-border tourism.
China-Russia open-water ferry service resumes for 2025 season
China's high-tech manufacturing, emerging services, and new forms of consumption gained momentum in May, supporting steady economic growth as employment and prices stayed broadly stable, official data showed Tuesday.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that production and supply improved steadily during this period, while the economy continued to move toward innovation-driven and quality-oriented growth.
In agriculture, summer grain production is in good shape this year and is expected to deliver a good harvest.
Industrial production also picked up, with value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size rising 4.5 percent year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points faster than in April.
The industrial sector continued to move up the value chain, with faster progress in smart, green and integrated manufacturing. In the first five months of the year, high-tech manufacturing contributed nearly 40 percent of overall industrial growth, pointing to stronger industrial competitiveness.
The services sector also expanded steadily. China's services production index rose 4.4 percent year on year in May, accelerating from the previous month, with emerging services such as information transmission, software and information technology maintaining solid growth.
Consumption continued to shift toward higher-quality demand. From January to May, services retail sales increased 5.4 percent, as demand for services was further released. Online, digital and green consumption became new growth points.
The job market remained generally stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1 percent in May, down 0.1 percentage points from April.
China's economy remains steady in May as manufacturing, services drive growth
