A new air cargo route was launched on Saturday, linking Kashgar Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Georgia's capital Tbilisi.
The freighter landed in southern Xinjiang's Kashgar Laining International Airport on the day, carrying chilled Norwegian salmon, live French brown crabs and Tajik cherries.
The air cargo charter for the first time opened up a channel for Kashgar to import fresh seafood from Europe.
Aviation cold chain technology was used to ensure that brown crabs and salmon remained fresh. Advanced preservation technology was also used to preserve the cherries' nutrients and taste.
"The import of these goods will greatly enrich the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation and Kashgar's foreign trade. Next, we will add more routes. We plan to open at least four routes within this year," said Zhang Ating, chairman of Kashgar Trade and Logistics Group.
New air cargo route links aviation hub of southern Xinjiang, Georgia
Demonstrators from civil groups, labor unions and other communities in South Africa rallied outside the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg on Friday, denouncing U.S. unilateral military actions against Venezuela and voicing solidarity with the Latin American nation.
They gathered along the street in front of the consulate, carrying banners that read "Hands Off Venezuela" and "Stop Imperialism," chanting slogans against U.S. hegemony and aggression.
"We are here to protest the U.S. threats to global peace, the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro Moros of Venezuela, which was done in violation of international law, in violation of territorial integrity of Venezuela, of course, in violation of national sovereignty of Venezuela," said Solly Afrika Mapaila, general secretary of the South African Communist Party.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, the United States carried out a military strike against Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, taking them to the United States.
Some protesters said the crisis in Venezuela shows how geopolitical struggles have direct and immediate effects on ordinary people's lives.
"Venezuela belongs to the people of Venezuela and nobody else. For American belligerent and colonial aggression, quite frankly, is not just something very distant. Never before have questions of geopolitics been of immediate and direct relevance and direct and immediate impacts on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, as you are seeing today," said Mametlwe Sebei, president of the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA).
Placards at the rally blended English and Spanish slogans, while some demonstrators sang liberation songs from South Africa's anti-apartheid era to express solidarity. Passing motorists slowed in front of the consulate, honking in support.
Defying the summer heat, the crowd remained spirited and resolute, their chants echoing along the street in a clear call for an end to foreign interference and respect for Venezuela's sovereignty.
South Africans rally in solidarity with Venezuela against U.S. aggression
South Africans rally in solidarity with Venezuela against U.S. aggression
South Africans rally in solidarity with Venezuela against U.S. aggression
