China's southern regions respond as super typhoon Ragasa makes landfall

Authorities across southern China have been enacting emergency response measures as Typhoon Ragasa made landfall along the coast of south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday afternoon, with the powerful storm bringing ferocious winds and torrential rain.

Ragasa, the 18th typhoon of the year and by far the strongest, first entered the South China Sea late Monday and has been moving along the southern edge of Guangdong at a speed of about 20 kilometers per hour.

The Guangdong provincial emergency management department had acted in advance of Ragasa's arrival, with over one million people being evacuated as a precaution. Various control measures have been imposed in coastal waters by local authorities, with all port operations suspended. Over 80,000 fishing boats have been secured in ports, while more than 12,200 offshore workers are taking shelter onshore across the province.

The central government has also urgently allocated supplies to support Guangdong in response to the typhoon.

Meanwhile, local authorities in other affected areas have also taken relevant measures.

In the southern island province of Hainan, high-speed rail services have been suspended, with flights also adjusted, and over 1,000 yachts being berthed.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region evacuated tourists from its Weizhou Island and also closed coastal routes ahead of the incoming bad weather.

The typhoon also forced classes to be suspended in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) while local transport also ground to a halt, while the Macao SAR experienced severe flooding in low-lying areas with a number of residents relocated.

China's Central Meteorological Observatory has forecast that the intensity of winds and rainfall around the Guangdong coast will weaken on Thursday, with the heavy rain shifting to the west and likely hitting the neighboring Guangxi region.

The public have been advised to take precautions, avoid unnecessary trips, and be alert for the risks posed by potential flooding in urban centers, as well as possible mountain torrents and landslides in various other parts of southern and eastern China, including in the Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Zhejiang provinces, where heavy rain is expected.

China's southern regions respond as super typhoon Ragasa makes landfall

China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday urged the European Union (EU) to face up to its own economic and trade problems and address mutual concerns through dialogue and consultation.

A spokesperson for the ministry made the remarks in response to a media query on its decision to launch anti-dumping investigations into imports of para-aramid filament yarns and ethylidene norbornene originating in the EU.

The two anti-dumping investigations were launched following applications from domestic industries, the spokesperson added.

Preliminary evidence provided by the applicants showed that from 2023 to the first half of 2026, imports of para-aramid filament yarns from the EU remained at a high level, with prices falling by more than 50 percent cumulatively.

Imports of ethylidene norbornene from the EU and other regions grew 27.35 percent cumulatively from 2023 to 2025, and rose 56 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, with prices trending downward.

The dumped imports have caused damage to the production and operations of the domestic industries, according to the applicants.

In accordance with Chinese law and WTO rules, these applications meet the conditions for filing anti-dumping investigations, the spokesperson said, adding that China will conduct investigations in accordance with laws and regulations, fully protect the rights of all interested parties, and make an objective and fair ruling.

The spokesperson noted that the EU has launched 16 trade remedy investigations against China since the start of 2026, nearly double the number from a year earlier, of which nine involve chemical products, accounting for nearly 60 percent. Since mid-October, the EU has successively launched anti-dumping investigations into Chinese products including furfuryl alcohol and polyvinylidene fluoride.

Compared with the EU's number of trade remedy cases against China, China has consistently exercised prudence and restraint in the trade remedy field, the spokesperson added.

Protectionism cannot enhance the EU's competitiveness, while dialogue and consultation are the right path to resolving mutual concerns, the spokesperson said. 

China urges EU to resolve mutual concerns through dialogue, consultation