Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge sees over 5-fold foreign trade jump in 7 years

The average monthly import and export value of goods passing through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge's Zhuhai Port has hit 25.4 billion yuan (about 3.56 billion U.S. dollars), a more than fivefold increase from the 4.1 billion yuan (about 580 million U.S. dollars) when the bridge started operation seven years ago, according to Gongbei Customs in south China's Guangdong Province.

High-tech products have been a particularly strong performer in this growth. In the first nine months of this year, high-tech product imports and exports via the Zhuhai Port reached 65.75 billion yuan (about 9.23 billion U.S. dollars), up 32.2 percent year on year.

As the only land port in the Chinese mainland with direct road access to the Hong Kong International Airport, the port has significantly streamlined freight transport by offering 24/7 clearance and "two-step declaration" services.

For example, on Oct 12, when a batch of medical equipment worth about 90,000 yuan (about 12,629 U.S. dollars) exported by a Guangdong-based medical technology company arrived at the Zhuhai Port, the export procedures were completed in less than five minutes, allowing the truck to depart swiftly.

"Since the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opened, our delivery efficiency has improved dramatically. The whole process -- from loading at the warehouse to clearing the port -- now takes only about two hours," said Zhou Guojun, general manager of the company.

"High-tech products are prone to damage when unpacked in non-clean environments. To address this, we have introduced large-scale container and vehicle inspection systems, and X-ray equipment for non-intrusive inspection, as well as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered algorithmic models for smart review. This has increased the proportion of non-intrusive inspections for high-tech imports and exports while minimizing product loss," said Li Qi, head of the third supervision section at the Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge under the jurisdiction of Gongbei Customs.

To date, the types of goods moving across the bridge continue to diversify -- from precision electronic components and high-end medical devices to new energy products and smart terminals. This wave of high-tech dynamism is injecting powerful vitality into the port's development.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge sees over 5-fold foreign trade jump in 7 years

Nicaragua's co-foreign minister Valdrack Jaentschke has warned that militarism must never be allowed to rise again, as Japan's recent moves to lift its arms export ban and revise the pacifist Constitution continue to draw international concern.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, where Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II were brought to justice.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Valdrack Jaentschke voiced his concern that today's world order is being undermined by interventionism and other challenges.

"It is necessary for us to remember that after the end of World War II, countries worked hard to build a new international order based on international law. However, regrettably, more than 80 years later, we are seeing that this once explored and attempted order is being challenged by interventionism, a confrontational mindset, and tendencies like 'might makes right.' These are precisely the conditions that gave rise to fascism and militarism in the past, which ultimately led to the tragedy of World War II," he said.

He said the international community has a responsibility to pursue a new international order -- one fundamentally grounded in peace.

"Looking back at the history more than eight decades ago and comparing it with today's reality, it is our responsibility to recognize that the world should, and must, build a new international order that is more just, fairer, rooted in international law, based on a logic of mutual benefit and shared success, and fundamentally grounded in peace," said the minister.

"Today, as we revisit the Tokyo Trials, it is meant to remind the world that such a tragedy must never be repeated -- and that we must do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again. We must stop that dark world -- born from militarism, interventionism, and fascism -- from ever returning," he said.

Nicaraguan FM warns of militarism revival