An estimated 1.52 billion cross-regional passenger trips were made across China during the five-day May Day holiday from May 1 to 5, according to the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday.
The high travel volume indicates a continued and robust recovery in the country's tourism and travel economy, a major driver of consumption.
The ministry said daily trips averaged over 300 million during the holiday, up 4.0 percent from the same period last year.
Journeys by road comprised the vast majority of the travel, accounting for an estimated 1.4 billion trips. Most of the remaining trips were handled by the country's railways, which seated over 106 million passengers, more than 21 million per day.
Meanwhile, waterways were expected to carry 8.5 million trips, or 1.7 million daily, and civil aviation was forecast to see about 10.5 million, averaging 2 million per day.
China predicts over 1.52 bln cross-regional trips during May Day holiday
Iran on Friday condemned a new U.S. sanctions campaign as "state terrorism" and said pressure tactics must end for diplomacy to resume, while a senior Iranian security official vowed to retaliate against any further economic escalation.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said the sanctions amounted to a new round of "economic terrorism," accusing the United States of exploiting its influence over the dollar-based financial system to pressure other countries into adopting its policies toward Iran.
The ministry said the measures violated the sovereignty of other states and the rights of all United Nations member states, and described them as a serious breach of the UN Charter.
The statement came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Tehran.
Araghchi described the talks as constructive and said diplomacy could return to the right track if the United States recognized that pressure would not work. It must build trust, engage respectfully, recognize Iran's rights and meet its obligations, he said.
Separately, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview aired on Lebanon's Al-Manar television that the U.S. shift toward economic pressure showed that its military strikes against Iran had not achieved their intended results.
Rezaei said Iran did not seek war but would respond decisively if hostilities resumed. He said Iran was preparing for a new phase of confrontation and that any future conflict would differ from previous ones.
He said any agreement between Iran and the United States would need to form part of a wider regional settlement, including a ceasefire across the Middle East, an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and an end to the war in Gaza.
Iran would take countermeasures against any further escalation of U.S. sanctions and target U.S. economic interests in the region, Rezaei said.
Iran condemns US sanctions, urges return to diplomacy
