Int'l logistics center in Shenzhen sees surge in shipment orders to US

The international logistics center in Shenzhen City, China's tech and manufacturing hub, on Thursday witnessed a significant increase in shipment orders to the United States as the two countries made tariff adjustments the day before.

The U.S. government has removed the additional 91 percent tariffs on Chinese goods, effective from 00:01 Eastern Time on May 14, and China has adjusted tariffs on imported U.S. products from 12:01 on the same day. A turnover warehouse in the logistics center aims to maintain a processing time of less than 12 days from order placement to delivery to the U.S. customers. Therefore, goods entering the warehouse must be shipped out within 12 hours each day.

However, due to the rising shipment orders and limited aircraft capacity, some goods are waiting to be shipped and are accumulating in the warehouse.

Ling Hushun, founder of an international logistics company in Shenzhen, said that the limited transportation capacity and rising orders have posed challenges to their cargo handling and overseas customs clearance operations. Currently, his warehouse is capable of managing a daily average of 50 tons of cargo, but the number of daily orders is steadily increasing.

"Our customers are requesting that we ship these goods as quickly as possible, so we expect a small explosive surge in logistics, with the shipments potentially doubling or tripling," said Ling.

As cargo volume increases, air freight prices are also climbing. Many freight companies have reserved container space for flights for next week or even beyond. "Last week, our air freight cost was between 24 and 25 yuan (about 3.33 to 3.47 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, but now it has jumped to 34 to 35 yuan. That's an increase of nearly 10 yuan per kilogram," said Lu Yinghuai, general manager of a logistics company.

"The shipment volume has increased by 30 to 40 percent, and there are noticeably more trucks on the roads. This isn't even the peak period yet, based on our estimates. We expect that in the next week or two, the shipment volume will increase further and we will be even busier, as more goods continue to be produced," said Huang Xiaobin, a local logistics official.

Int'l logistics center in Shenzhen sees surge in shipment orders to US

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that Seoul firmly adheres to the one-China principle, in comments made ahead of his upcoming state visit to China.

The remarks were made in an interview with China Media Group (CMG). The visit is scheduled for Jan 4–7.

"The consensus reached between governments of the Republic of Korea and China when diplomatic relations were established continues to be the fundamental principle governing our relations, and its effectiveness remains steadfast. I want to clearly state that the ROK has always adhered to the one-China principle. Maintaining peace and stability in regional matters, including in Northeast Asia and concerning the Taiwan issue, holds significant importance to us," said Lee.

"The foundational relationship between the ROK and China was established on a very principled and fundamental basis from the beginning. It is clear that the ROK government has always adhered to this position and has never wavered from it. I believe that the sound development of ROK-China relations depends on both sides fully respecting each other's core interests and being mutually tolerant of each other's positions. In this context, we will, as always, uphold the one-China principle as the Taiwan issue is China's most fundamental concern," he said.

ROK president reiterates firm adherence to one-China principle