A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday urged the Japanese government to expedite the disposal of chemical weapons abandoned by retreating Japanese aggressor troops in China during World War II, stating that Japan's lack of sincerity and insufficient input have seriously endangered the lives of Chinese people and the country's ecological environment.
Lin Jian, the spokesman, made the statement at a regular press briefing in Beijing in response to a question about an exhibition on Japan's military poison gas recently organized by Japanese civic groups in Yokohama.
"During WWII, Japanese militarists developed and used chemical weapons on a large scale in China and other Asian countries, which constitutes a blatant violation of international law and has caused untold suffering on multiple countries. In China alone, there are more than 2,000 cases of Japanese forces using chemical weapons, causing more than 200,000 Chinese military and civilian casualties. After Japan’s defeat, in an attempt to cover up its crimes, a large number of chemical weapons were left behind in China, resulting in more than 2,000 casualties so far and posing a serious threat to Chinese people’s lives and the ecological environment," Lin said.
"Despite long-existing evidence of the crimes against humanity, Japanese right-wing forces distorted history and falsely claimed that the abandoned chemical weapons (ACWs) have gradually become 'not harmful' and that 'the legal statutes of limitations for liability have passed.' The Japanese government has demonstrated insufficient sincerity and given inadequate input in fulfilling its obligations of the Chemical Weapons Convention concerning the complete destruction of the ACWs, and the destruction process is seriously lagging behind schedule," he said.
"To remove the hazardous ACWs is Japanese government’s unshirkable historical responsibility and due obligation under international law. China urges the Japanese government to fulfill its responsibility under relevant convention, face up to the just call from visionary people in its own country and victim neighboring countries, comprehensively and faithfully fulfill the requirements of international convention and the MOU between the two governments, speed up the destruction process, and restore a safe living environment for the Chinese people at an early date," said the spokesman.
China urges Japan to accelerate disposal of abandoned chemical weapons
Electric heavy truck makers in China are improving their supporting service system to better meet the increasing demands of international customers amid a fast export growth driven by volatile international oil prices and the global need for pursing green transformation.
Customs data showed that China exported over 2,500 electric tractors in the first seven months this year, increasing by more than 870 percent year over year.
Inside the workshop of a heavy truck manufacturer in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, engineers were making adjustments to electric trucks' body length and wheelbase to meet the specific needs of their South African customers.
"In South Africa, some of these trucks need to pull trailers. For this reason, we need to make adaptations according to the requirements in different situations," said Liang Chen, director of the overseas product research institute of the heavy truck enterprise.
In June this year, the enterprise exported 883 electric heavy electric trucks in one batch. The head of the company's overseas marketing said the negotiations lasted for nearly two years as the international customer was very concerned about supporting services.
"The customer kept asking how we could guarantee vehicle operation and after sales services, and what we could do if the trucks break down or fail to start? This was a recurring question from our customers. So we developed targeted solutions to address these concerns. We have built a strong local service team to guarantee vehicle operation. We have prepared adequate stocks of spare parts for electric vehicles in the host country. We also provide backup vehicles, so our customers can use our electric heavy trucks without worries," said Yue Zhaoting, deputy general manager of overseas marketing of the heavy truck enterprise.
The firm also provides solutions for charging electric heavy trucks in remote areas such as mines where stable power supply is rare.
"Because we have mature photovoltaic module and micro grid technologies, we are able to form a closed loop solution, including generating energy by photovoltaic panels, battery energy storage, and battery swap stations to power electric trucks. These fundamentally address the difficulties of customers with limited access or no access to power supply," said Yue.
The enterprise has set up more than 1,700 overseas service centers and employed over 7,000 professional service personnel abroad.
Chinese electric heavy truck manufacturer improves supporting services to drive export growth
