Excavator operator recalls critical mission of carving life-saving path through mudslide

Zhang Xiaojun, an excavator operator with the state-run engineering and rescue enterprise of China Anneng, was among the first to break through a massive mudslide that cut off the main road to the Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region neighboring Nepal, reopening a critical route for rescue teams and heavy equipment.

When Zhang arrived at the scene a week ago -- shortly after the devastating mudslide on part of the China-Nepal border on August 26, the highway had disappeared beneath mud and floodwater. With the road completely blocked, the only way forward was through the river.

"The whole road was covered by mud and debris. All we could see was a fast-moving river," Zhang said.

With a mountain on one side and a raging river on the other, the team had no choice but to carve out a temporary route through the rushing water.

"We dropped rocks into the water, but the current would wash them away. So we had to use bigger rocks and build it up," he said.

The most challenging section took a full day and night to complete. For Zhang, who has 23 years of rescue experience, it was the largest mudslide he had ever encountered.

"The current was incredibly strong. When we put the bucket into the water, you could feel the force of the current pushing the excavator and even turning it," Zhang said.

Back home, his family was following the operation from afar.

"My daughter kept video-calling me. Every time, she would say, 'Dad, please stay safe,'" he recalled.

The fast-moving chain mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, struck the Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border on August 26.

As of 18:00 Friday, 31 people have been confirmed dead and 531 others remain missing on the Chinese side, according to local authorities.

China has deployed 726 troops to the disaster area for relief operations, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.

Excavator operator recalls critical mission of carving life-saving path through mudslide

Excavator operator recalls critical mission of carving life-saving path through mudslide

China on Saturday expressed serious concern and firm opposition to new U.S. outbound investment restrictions, saying that it will closely follow relevant developments and reserve the right to take all necessary measures.

The statement made by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce came in response to a media query regarding the U.S. Treasury Department's updated proposed rules on outbound investment released on Friday.

In the statement released on the ministry's official website, the spokesperson said that the proposed rule expands the scope of investment restrictions targeting China in a discriminatory manner and intensifies these constraints, which is a classic example of generalizing the concept of national security and runs counter to the important consensus reached by the two heads of state.

It also interrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between Chinese and U.S. enterprises, and undermines the international economic and trade order, the spokesperson added.

Highlighting China's enormous market and immense consumer and investment potential, the spokesperson emphasized that investing in China means investing in the future.

U.S. restrictions on investments in China not only hinder bilateral economic and trade cooperation, but also harm the interests of American enterprises themselves, the spokesperson noted.

China urges the U.S. side to respect the laws of a market economy, stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop politicizing and weaponizing trade and economic issues, and create an enabling environment for China-U.S. business cooperation, said the spokesperson.

China firmly opposes US discriminatory investment restrictions: spokesperson