China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will jointly hold commemorative events to mark the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
"Yesterday we released the news on the visit by Pak Thae Song, premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to China. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. China and the DPRK agreed to jointly hold commemorative events. As to the specific arrangements for these events, we will release relevant information in a timely manner," said Mao.
China, DPRK to jointly mark friendship treaty anniversary: spokeswoman
China's first major river-to-sea canal officially opened to navigation on Wednesday, a development that will lower logistics costs for Taiwan-funded enterprises and create new opportunities for them to tap the ASEAN market, a mainland spokeswoman said at a regular press conference in Beijing.
The 134.2-km Pinglu Canal in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is expected to shorten the shipping distance between China's southwestern hinterland and ASEAN countries by 560 km, reducing logistics costs by 18 to 30 percent.
The canal is part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a logistics network linking western China with Southeast Asia through railways, roads, waterways and ports. It adds a water connection to the corridor, linking China's inland river system with the ports and shipping routes of the Beibu Gulf.
"It is widely agreed among businesspeople from Taiwan that the Pinglu Canal will facilitate Taiwan-funded enterprises in connecting with resources in western mainland cities, effectively reduce import and export logistics costs through rail-river-sea multimodal transport, and create new opportunities for Taiwan-funded enterprises to explore the ASEAN market after an industrial chain is created, spanning raw material processing in the west, river-to-sea transshipment in Guangxi, and sales in ASEAN markets. We welcome the vast number of businesspeople and enterprises from Taiwan to share in the opportunities of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in the west, take root in the mainland, and achieve a greater development," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, on Wednesday.
Pinglu Canal creates new opportunities for Taiwan-funded enterprises: spokeswoman
