A new high-speed railway line will cut 70 percent of the travel time between the capital city and a county-level city bordering Vietnam in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region once its entire line becomes fully operational on Friday, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).
The 201-km Nanning-Pingxiang Railway is built in two sections, the Nanning-Chongzuo and Chongzuo-Pingxiang sections. The Nanning-Chongzuo section began operation in December, 2022, cutting the travel time between two cities from two hours and 36 minutes to 52 minutes.
The Chongzuo-Pingxiang section, with a mileage of 81 kilometers and a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour, will be put into operation on Friday, marking completion of the construction of the whole program.
In the initial phase, four pairs of high-speed trains will run daily. The fastest journey from the capital Nanning to Pingxiang will take 75 minutes, a reduction of 178 minutes compared to the current regular passenger train journeys.
After the opening of the new rail line, an efficient passenger transport corridor connected with the national high-speed rail network via the Nanning hub will be established, providing direct access to the border city of Pingxiang and further improving the structure of the railway network in the Guangxi region.
New high-speed railway line to be fully operational in south China's Guangxi
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
