China will continue its support for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to work as a stabilizer of global trade and to make greater contributions in addressing global challenges, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday.
During his meeting with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, He said that the multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, is the cornerstone of international trade and plays an important role in global economic governance.
He urged all parties to resolve differences and disputes through dialogues on an equal footing within the WTO's framework, to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade, and push for the stable and smooth functioning of global industrial and supply chains.
China will continue to participate comprehensively and deeply in the reform of the global trade body, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of developing members, said the Chinese vice premier.
He, the Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, also briefed the WTO chief on the high-level China-U.S. economic and trade meeting held over the weekend in Geneva.
Okonjo-Iweala said that the current global economic and trade growth faces severe challenges, noting that WTO members should work together to defend an open and rule-based multilateral trading system, strengthen dialogue and cooperation on international trade issues, and push for a greater WTO role in facilitating trade liberalization, improving trade efficiency, and achieving global sustainable development.
China firmly supports multilateralism, free trade and WTO's greater role: vice premier
China firmly supports multilateralism, free trade and WTO's greater role: vice premier
Both engines of the recently crashed Air India airplane had shut down mid-air within seconds of take-off, showed a preliminary investigation report released on Saturday by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (ABI).
According to Indian media, the report said that before the Flight AI-171 plane crashed, the switches controlling the fuel flow of the two engines switched from "RUN" to "CUT OFF" within a second of each other, which caused the aircraft engines to stop working. The cockpit voice recorder shows that one of the pilots asked, "Why did you cut off?" and the other pilot replies, "I didn't."
The accident report also showed that both switches were moved back to the "RUN" position and while engine 1 showed signs of recovery, but engine 2 could not.
"The CCTV footage obtained from the airport showed Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed during the initial climb immediately after lift-off. No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall," the report said.
The report noted that the RAT was deployed, indicating a total loss of power and thrust in the aircraft. The report also showed that the flap settings and landing gear positions were normal at the time of the crash.
The report said that these facts will become a focus area for future investigations.
The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of India's western state of Gujarat, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.
Air India crash report shows both engines shut down shortly after takeoff
