China-Russia joint naval patrol concludes successfully

A Chinese and Russian naval fleet arrived at a military port in Vladivostok, Russia on Wednesday, concluding an over-two-week joint patrol and exercises involving multiple sea areas.   The patrol fleet consisted of Chinese guided-missile destroyers Kaifeng and Anshan, comprehensive supply ship Kekexili Lake, and Russian corvette Rezky.

The fleet set sail from the port city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province on July 13, sailing through the Miyako Strait, the Vries Strait and the Soya Strait, and conducting joint patrols in the western Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.

The patrol was conducted after a joint exercise titled "Joint Sea-2026" by the two navies in waters and airspace near Qingdao, which took place from July 6 to 13.

During the patrol, under joint command, the two sides conducted drills including shipborne helicopter cross-deck landings, joint anti-terrorism drills, humanitarian rescue missions, and visit, boarding, search and seizure (VBSS) operations. The participating Chinese vessels also conducted multiple combat-oriented drills with scenarios set based on real-time maritime and aerial situations.

The joint patrol is a routine military operation organized by the Chinese and Russian navies under their annual planning, aimed at continuously improving practical cooperation between the two navies and their capability to jointly respond to maritime threats. It does not target any specific country or objective.

This marks the sixth such patrol organized by China and Russia since 2021.

China-Russia joint naval patrol concludes successfully

The Youyiguan Port, or Friendship Pass, in Pingxiang City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region neighboring Vietnam registered sharp growth in the value of imports and exports in the first half of this year.

The port, China's main gateway to Vietnam, recorded a total import and export cargo value of 364.12 billion yuan (about 53.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first six months, up 26 percent year on year.

The trade with ASEAN member states dominated the port's performance, with the value of imports from and exports to ASEAN countries reaching 361.4 billion yuan in the January-June period, a 26.2 percent increase year on year, accounting for 99.3 percent of the port's total cross-border volume.

Machinery and electronic products remained the main categories of imports and exports through the port.

To facilitate economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN countries, the local customs authorities have introduced a series of measures to simplify the customs declaration and clearance procedures, raising the overall inspection efficiency by 40 percent.

South China's Friendship Pass registers sharp growth in value of imports, exports in January-June