Beijing Tongzhou Railway Station, a key node in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei rail network, officially opened to traffic on Monday, injecting fresh momentum into regional development.
From the new station, which is located in the comprehensive transportation hub of Beijing's sub-center Tongzhou District, passengers can reach north China's Tianjin Municipality's Baodi in just 26 minutes by intercity train, Beichen station in 56 minutes, and Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province in 90 minutes.
The new line expands cross-provincial travel options and brings cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region closer, filling a critical gap in regional connectivity and further prompting "one-hour transportation circle" in the region.
"The completion and commissioning of Beijing Tongzhou Railway Station, along with the operation of additional railway lines, will significantly advance the integrated development of transportation, daily life, employment, and consumption between the Beijing's sub-center and its surrounding regions, particularly the three northern counties of Langfang city (Sanhe, Dachang, and Xianghe). This enhanced connectivity is expected to facilitate a more dynamic flow of production factors, including talents, technology, capital and data," said Hu Jiulong, deputy director of the the sub-center's management committee.
Beijing Tongzhou Railway Station put into operation
The landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump will hopefully have a positive influence on global stability and encouraging greater international cooperation, according to a Malaysian analyst.
Trump on Friday concluded a three-day state visit to China at the invitation of Xi, which marked the first such U.S. presidential visit in nine years.
In a meeting closely watched by the world, Xi and Trump held talks on Thursday in which they agreed on a new vision of building a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability.
Bunn Nagara, a senior fellow at the Belt and Road Caucus for Asia Pacific in Kuala Lumpur, said in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that he is optimistic that the meeting sends out a good signal for improving bilateral relations and enhancing ties across multiple fields.
"Now we see quite clearly that both countries want to go really well together, to be partners, and I think that bodes well for everyone. There are no outstanding challenges to improving economic relations and bilateral relations generally. So I think the future is all for the good, because the rest of the world really want them to come together," Nagara said.
"I think everyone else would like to see an all-round improvement in terms of diplomacy, as well as trade, economics. It's a bit too early to go into the details, but I think we can expect these to emerge in the public sphere once Trump and his delegation get back to the U.S. It's all very encouraging, obviously. That means the improving relations between these two countries all round, diplomatically, economically, in every other way, encourages all other countries to actually be more reasonable with one another," he said.
Landmark Xi-Trump summit marks positive signal for bilateral ties: Malaysian expert
