Authorities in the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province have evacuated more than 17,100 residents in response to a severe tropical storm.
Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, was downgraded to a severe tropical storm after making a second landfall in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region early Monday morning.
Yunnan's Funing County, which borders Guangxi, was the first region in the province affected by the severe weather, with landslides, road damage, and flooded crops occurring in multiple locations across the area.
To ensure the safety of residents, local authorities started evacuation operations before the arrival of the worst hit.
"Those staying at home are all seniors having troubles getting around. So we drove vehicles into the village to evacuate them," said Li Caiying, an official of Longse Village.
"Our operation covers 564 residents in 23 village groups. We have transferred them to the 23 relocation sites we prepared to ensure the safety of their lives and property," said Zhang Yu, head of the emergency response office of Gula Township.
The evacuated residents spent the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday safely in tents at the relocation sites.
Heavy machinery has been dispatched to various locations across the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture to clear fallen trees and landslide debris.
As of noon on Tuesday, authorities of the prefecture had completed the evacuation and relocation of over 17,100 residents, inspected more than 6,800 villages for potential hazards, distributed over 3,000 items of daily necessities, suspended operations at some enterprises, and temporarily closed some tourist attractions.
Flood prevention efforts are proceeding in an orderly manner throughout the region in response to the ongoing rainfall.
Tropical storm forces evacuation of over 17,100 in southwest China
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
