A large ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ship loaded with 7,273 new energy vehicles (NEVs) set sail on Sunday from the Nantong Port in eastern Chinese city of Nantong to Europe, marking the opening of a new maritime route for Chinese NEVs heading overseas.
This ship, loaded with NEVs produced by Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD, departed from the Lyusi Port Area at Nantong Port and will go directly to European countries including Italy and Spain.
It marks the largest single-voyage export of a single automotive brand from China in the past decade, and also the first time that the Nantong Port has handled a large-scale commercial vehicle shipment, adding a new gateway for Chinese-made products to reach global markets.
The latest exported batch gathered vehicles from multiple production bases across China, 90 percent of which were transported to Lyusi Port by rail.
This rail-sea intermodal service has provided solid support for Chinese automakers to further expand their overseas presence.
Simplified customs clearance for export goods has also provided a further boost. To ensure the smooth launch of the new route's maiden voyage, port authorities including border inspection, customs, and maritime agencies worked closely together to guarantee efficient vehicle loading and hassle-free customs clearance for the ship.
China opens new shipping route for Europe-bound NEVs
Five patients infected with the Ebola Bundibugyo virus have recovered in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health authorities said Sunday.
Four of the recovered patients, all medical workers, were discharged on Sunday from an Ebola treatment center in Bunia after testing negative twice for Ebola, while another patient, a laboratory worker, had already returned home, according to the DRC's National Institute of Public Health.
The DRC Health Ministry said Sunday that 263 confirmed cases had been reported in the country as of Friday, including 42 deaths among confirmed cases.
Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Jean Kaseya said on Sunday that more than 1,100 test results were still pending as of Saturday.
The recoveries came as the DRC stepped up laboratory testing and case management in affected areas. DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said Saturday that there were no pending samples awaiting laboratory testing, stressing that response teams were continuing surveillance, contact tracing, and case verification.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was present in Bunia for the inauguration of a new Ebola treatment center and hailed the recoveries.
"We are still working on vaccines and treatments, but that does not mean that people cannot recover from Ebola," Tedros said.
5 Ebola patients recover as DR Congo reports 263 confirmed cases
