New measures rolled out to facilitate construction of western land-sea trade corridor: official

A package of new measures featuring a multi-tiered and diversified financial integration system has been rolled out to facilitate the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China's western regions to global markets, said a senior official on Thursday.

The measures were spelled out in a guideline jointly issued by the People's Bank of China -- China's central bank, the National Development and Reform Commission -- China's top economic planner -- and other competent central government departments, focusing on giving full play to the core functions of financing and settlement.

Speaking at a press conference, Chen Xinwu, executive vice mayor of Chongqing in southwest China, which is the operation center and core hub of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, briefed news media on how the measures will facilitate the construction of the corridor.

"For example, we will establish a new fund for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Chongqing, effectively gathering diverse sources of capital, including international and domestic investors as well as state-owned and private enterprises, to promote equity and debt financing, tackle challenges in fund raising for infrastructure construction and cross-regional industrial development, stimulate innovations in cross-border finance, supply chain finance, etc., and provide robust financial support for the construction of the corridor," Chen said in interpreting the guideline, officially known as the Opinions on Financial Support for Accelerating the Construction of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor.

Chen said that to foster in-depth integration of finance and logistics, the package of measures will also focuses on cross-border settlement and financing services for corridor logistics, deepen the innovation of exclusive financial products, and address challenges met by enterprises such as difficulties in financing and slow settlement.

"For example, we will accelerate the development of a single-documentation-based financial and insurance service system for multimodal transport, which not only enables single-time entrustment, single-time insurance, and single documentation throughout the whole process to reduce liability disputes in separate documentation-based land-sea intermodal transport, but also allows use of goods as collateral for financing during transit to accelerate capital turnover of enterprises, which will significantly enhance the credit accessibility and insurance coverage for logistics and foreign trade companies," Chen said.

The New Western Land-Sea Corridor connects the Silk Road Economic Belt in the north with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in the south, coordinating with the Yangtze River Economic Belt and playing a crucial role in China's coordinated regional development strategy. Since its pilot run in 2017, it has evolved into a strategic route linking China's inland regions with the markets of ASEAN countries and other parts of the world.

New measures rolled out to facilitate construction of western land-sea trade corridor: official

As Japan on Tuesday marked the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of its pacifist Constitution, more than 10,000 Japanese citizens gathered in front of the National Diet building in Tokyo to protest moves by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government to revise the Constitution and expand military capabilities.

The Takaichi administration has recently made a series of moves concerning nuclear policy. After Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi repeatedly said that "no options are ruled out" in discussions about introducing nuclear-powered submarines, Takaichi told parliament this month that the government would seriously consider the possibility of the Self-Defense Forces acquiring such submarines in a "concrete and realistic manner."

"I believe that under the protection of the pacifist Constitution, Japan was not dragged into other countries' wars, and in some respects, the country was truly protected by the Constitution. But now some people want to abandon these restrictions, and Japan is moving step by step towards launching wars. In my view, relevant people are single-mindedly bent on starting a war, and they even incited the Japanese public hostility towards other countries. What kind of politicians would want to push for wars? That is why I come here to protest," said a protester.

Japanese media have reported that the government may revise the wording concerning the Three Non-Nuclear Principles when it updates the country's three key security documents by the end of this year.

"Japan today is heading to wars. I'm trying to do my part in stopping this trend. In particular, some people are trying to abandon the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. This is utterly absurd," said another protester.

"Military moves or wars cannot protect us. Wars are killing people. In the end, the only right path is diplomacy, through talking, communicating, and working hard, so as to find where we can resonate with each other. Revision of the Constitution absolutely must not be allowed, especially the kind of revision that attempts to turn Japan into a war-wielding country. It must not be allowed," said a protester.

Some at the rally said the Takaichi government's continued push for militarization has heightened tensions with neighboring countries.

"Japan's military budget is rising sharply. To maintain friendly relations with neighboring countries, Japan must not revise its Constitution, and the dangerous military buildup must not be allowed to go on," said another protester.

"I oppose the malicious revision of the Constitution, because I do not want Japan to become a country that launches wars again. Whether in military or economic terms, the Takaichi administration is showing extremely dangerous tendencies. The Takaichi administration is sparing no effort in trying to revise the Constitution, and this cannot be allowed to happen. We want to express our opposition by joining rallies like this," said a protester.

Over 10,000 Japanese citizens mark Constitution promulgation anniversary, rally against revision