A new passenger train route linking Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with southwest China's Chongqing Municipality was launched on Tuesday, facilitating transregional traveling of residents in southern Xinjiang.
The first train running on the new route, K4532, departed from Kashgar and stopped in Aksu and Kuqa cities in Xinjiang, Xining City in Qinghai Province, Lanzhou City in Gansu Province, and Guangyuan City in Sichuan Province before arriving in Chongqing.
Directly connecting southern Xinjiang with Sichuan and Chongqing, the new route provides a new option for people in southern Xinjiang to travel across the country.
New passenger train route links southern Xinjiang with Chongqing
Officials from the European Union (EU) and Finland have voiced concerns after the White House said it has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including the use of the military.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press briefing in Cairo on Thursday that the message from the U.S. is "extremely concerning," and "not really helping the stability of the world."
Kallas called on all parties to stick to international law, adding that relevant response measures has been discussed among EU members.
"The international law is very clear, and we have to stick to it. It is clear that it is the only thing that protects smaller countries, and that is why it is in the interest of all of us. And we discussed this today, as well, that we uphold the international law on all levels," she said.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Thursday described recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration on Greenland as "worrying," while reiterating Finland's support for Denmark and Greenland's right to self-determination.
"Finland and the other Nordic countries have exceptional expertise in Arctic conditions, and we are happy to make use of that together with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to strengthen Arctic security, but it cannot be done by threatening allies," she said at a press conference at Finnish parliament after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.
Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "unprecedented" for threats of violence to be made within NATO against another member in connection with seizing territory, adding that such threats run counter to the United Nations Charter and that their inconsistency with international law should be underscored at all levels.
EU, Finnish officials express concerns over US remarks on Greenland
