China calls on int'l community to continue helping Colombia advance peace

A Chinese envoy on Friday emphasized the importance of fully implementing the 2016 Final Peace Agreement in Colombia, calling on the international community to continue supporting the South American country's peace process.

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, made the statement when speaking at a Security Council meeting on the Colombian situation at the UN headquarters.

"Since 2016, the Colombian government and people have actively implemented the peace agreement and made significant progress on the path to peace and development. With more and more 'low-hanging fruits' having been picked, what remains are 'tough nuts to crack.' All parties in Colombia should have a firm resolve and strengthen unity, continuing to advance the country's peaceful development and construction," he said. Geng said that China supports Colombian President Gustavo Petros in increasing resource input and strengthening overall coordination during his term to achieve more practical results in implementing the peace agreement.

Geng urged Colombia to steadily advance national development and improve its security situation.

He also said that China welcomes Colombia's progress in land adjudication and regularization and encourages the country to continue advancing rural reforms so that the dividends of development can benefit more people.

China supports the Colombian government in strengthening security deployments to ensure the safety of people and protect vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities, women, and children, he said. Noting that China supports the Colombian government in maintaining engagement with anti-government forces and promoting peace talks, the envoy said that China hopes that all parties in Colombia will cherish and safeguard the hard-earned peace and ensure the smooth conduct of the upcoming general election.

"The international community should continue to provide assistance for Colombia. At present, Colombia's cause of peace and development is at a critical stage, when external encouragement and support are indispensable and particularly important. All relevant parties should, on the basis of respecting Colombia's sovereignty and dominance, provide support for Colombia's peaceful development rather than creating obstacles, and extend a helping hand rather than interfering," said Geng.

China calls on int'l community to continue helping Colombia advance peace

South China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest FTP by area, is in smooth and orderly operations one month into the launch of its special customs operations.

The island has seen an increase in both the value of imports of zero-tariff goods and the number of foreign trade entities since Dec 18.

According to the Haikou Customs, from Dec. 18, 2025 to Jan. 17, 2026, the value of "first line" imported zero-tariff goods was 750 million yuan (about 107 million U.S. dollars); the value of processed and value-added goods sold domestically through the "second line" was about 85.9 million yuan.

Meanwhile, a total of 5,132 new foreign trade entities were registered in this period.

In addition, the duty-free sales supervised by customs reached 4.86 billion yuan, up 46.8 percent year on year, and the number of shoppers rose 30.2 percent year on year to 745,000, showing sustained strong consumption vitality.

To better meet the diverse needs of tourists, Hainan's duty-free policy ushered in a new round of adjustments on Nov. 1, 2025. The categories of duty-free goods increased from 45 to 47, and the beneficiary range was expanded to include outbound travelers, attracting more international tourists to duty-free shopping.

On Dec. 18 last year, China launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan FTP, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage, and introducing more business-friendly measures.

One notable special customs policy is offering "freer access at the first line," referring to freer trade between Hainan and areas outside China's customs borders, and "regulated access at the second line," which involves applying standard customs controls for goods moving from Hainan to the mainland.

China's Hainan FTP sees early gains from island-wide special customs operations