Heavy machinery enters Gyirong Port mudslide zone after road repair

Large vehicles and heavy machinery have now entered the core disaster area of the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region following a major effort to clear a key access road, enabling emergency teams to conduct deeper search and rescue operations.

Road access to the core area was restored at around 10:00 Wednesday after days of round-the-clock repair work on the G216 national highway, which was left cut off following last Wednesday's deadly mudslide on the China-Nepal border.

The disaster had damaged an almost three-kilometer section of the highway, forcing the initial rescue teams to trek through the treacherous mountain terrain for over 10 hours or take helicopters to reach the main port area.

With the route re-opened on Wednesday following days of road clearance efforts, more rescue personnel soon entered and immediately optimized their approach.

They closely followed the paths cleared by the heavy machinery, using life detectors and other specialized equipment to conduct detailed searches, while sniffer dogs were also deployed as the teams hope to find any signs of life among the piled boulders, buried buildings, and silted river channels.

Soldiers from the People's Liberation Army Xizang Military Command and the Armed Police Force also joined the operation, helping conduct clearance work and carrying out disinfection at the site.

Specialist teams are also assessing for risks and advising preventative steps to avoid secondary disasters occurring. A joint monitoring group is continually checking the barrier lake dam, upstream glaciers, and other noted landslide points to ensure the safety of ongoing rescue operations.

Temporary insurance claims services have also been launched. Insurers have initially estimated losses at approximately 450 million yuan (around 67 million U.S. dollars), and banks have provided more than 200 million yuan in emergency cash support.

The mudslide, caused by an ice-rock avalanche on the Nepalese side of the border, hit the Gyirong Port on the morning of Aug 26. It has claimed at least 21 lives and left 541 missing at the border port as of Wednesday noon, according to the regional government's latest update.

Heavy machinery enters Gyirong Port mudslide zone after road repair

China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) welcomed 11 foreign banks as new direct participants at a bank-enterprise collaboration event in Xiamen of east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday, extending its reach across six new countries, including Rwanda, Türkiye and Uzbekistan.

A signing ceremony for the new participating banks took place on the sidelines of the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), which attracted delegations from 129 countries and regions, with 60 setting up exhibition areas.

The new agreements have further extended the global reach of CIPS -- a payment system that provides clearing and settlement services for cross-border RMB payments and trade -- expanding the network of direct participants in 133 countries and regions, while its business now covers 192 countries and regions, reaching some 5,300 banking institutions.

Mziwandile Mavuso, head of intraday liquidity management at South Africa's FirstRand Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Africa, said direct participation in the system makes RMB payments smoother and simpler for bank clients.

"Through direct participation in CIPS, banks can offer faster and more transparent RMB payment services, reduce dependencies on multiple intermediaries," said Mziwandile Mavuso, head of intraday liquidity management at FirstRand Bank Ltd.in South Africa.

The event on Tuesday also saw CIPS launch its cross-border letter of guarantee service, a standardized messaging tool covering issuance, amendment, claims and refusal notices, easing guarantee arrangements across borders for lenders and their corporate clients alike and adding to the growing range of RMB applications in international payments.

The banking breakthrough was held for the first time as part of broader CIFIT trade fair, which is organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and has become an important platform for boosting investment and facilitating global development since it was first held in 1997.

China's cross-border payment system welcomes 11 foreign banks as new direct participants