The first high-speed train from Xiangyang to Jingmen, two cities in central China's Hubei Province, pulled out early Sunday, officially opening the new inter-city line.
Connecting the cities from north to south, the 116.23-km-long railway boasts a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
It is an important section in one of the main passages of a greater high-speed rail artery network consisting eight vertical lines and eight horizontal lines in the country.
In the initial operation phase, up to 26 high-speed trains will run daily.
Upon its official opening this month, the railway will significantly reduce travel time between Xiangyang and Jingmen to less than half an hour, 50 minutes shorter than the current travel time for conventional passenger trains.
The new high-speed railway will also reduce the travel time from Xiangyang to Jingzhou to 55 minutes, cutting the current transfer-heavy, Hankou-detour ride by 2 hours and 27 minutes.
Xiangyang-Jingmen high-speed railway put into official operation in central China
The United States announced on Wednesday that it will impose a 25-percent tariff on certain imported semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and related derivative products starting Thursday.
According to a proclamation by U.S. President Donald Trump posted on the website of the White House, he outlined a two-phase plan in light of suggestion from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. In the first phase, Trump said, the United States will continue negotiations with foreign authorities capable of strengthening the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Meanwhile, he said the 25-percent tariff is being applied immediately to a small portion of imported semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and derivatives deemed critical to U.S. artificial intelligence and technology policy.
The proclamation said that once the relevant negotiations are completed, the United States will extend tariffs to a wider range of imported semiconductors at a significant rate during the second phase.
The proclamation also said that Lutnick proposed a tariff-offset mechanism, under which companies that invest in semiconductor production and supply chain within the United States will be eligible for preferential tariff treatment.
In early August 2025, Trump declared that the United States would move to impose 100-percent tariffs on imported semiconductor products.
US imposes 25 percent tariff on imports of certain semiconductors
