At Least 22 Killed in Restaurant Fire in Northern China
A fire broke out during lunchtime on Tuesday in a restaurant in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people, according to local authorities and state media reports.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to a notice on the Ministry of Emergency Management's website.
The restaurant owner has been taken into custody as part of the investigation, state media Xinhua reported, citing the provincial propaganda department.
The blaze erupted at around 12:25 p.m. local time in a restaurant located in the Baitai district of Shenyang, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
By 2 p.m. local time, three people had been confirmed injured, Xinhua reported.
The propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often tightly
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Resident Linda Zhang told The Epoch Times that the restaurant is popular among the locals.
Zhang, who uses a pseudonym due to fear of reprisal from the authorities, mentioned that the fire broke out at around lunchtime and heard that 'dozens of consumers and staff' were inside the restaurant at the time.
'The fire has been put out, but there are still people trapped inside,' Zhang said.
The incident occurred just days before the start of a week-long Labor Day holiday on Thursday, prompting the top-level CCP officials to intervene in the situation.
CCP leader Xi Jinping, who is visiting the financial hub of Shanghai on Tuesday, called the incident a 'deeply sobering lesson,' directing officials to swiftly investigate its cause.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang also urged local authorities to identify and address safety hazards across all sectors to avert major accidents ahead of the upcoming public holiday.
The fire was the latest in a spate of similar incidents across the country in recent years. In April, at least 20 people were killed in a fire that broke out in an apartment that housed a nursing home in the northern province of Hebei.
Gas leaks were responsible for two major explosions in residential areas last year. In March, a blast at a restaurant in Hebei resulted in the deaths of at least two people and injured 26 others. In September, an explosion in a high-rise building in southern Shenzhen Province killed at least one person.
Yi Ru and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Associated Press
9 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Global Times: At Rizhao Port: Small phone screen unlocks code to transform, upgrade China's global trade
BEIJING, June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In the sunlit repair depot of Rizhao Port of Shandong Port Group, Xu Guannan stands in front of a giant 17-ton wheel loader. This beast of a machine, capable of lifting 3 cubic meters of coals in one scoop, is not humming well these days, sending its work efficiency down. Initial reports suggest the machine is hit by overheating problems, but dozens of parts could be the culprit. A traditional repair work would by this time start climbing this behemoth and try to scout for faulty parts, guided by hunches and experience. Instead, Xu, deputy head of the Technology Innovation Center of Rizhao Port, reached into his pocket to grab his smartphone. From the small screen, Xu accessed the interface of a digital repair manual developed by his team of software engineers and powered by the latest artificial intelligence (AI) tool DeepSeek, which analyzed the problem in a flash and gave the answer - a ventilation valve on the gearbox is at fault. This is just a snapshot of the high-tech-powered, smart operation of Rizhao Port, which has earned the highest praise for its successful transformation and upgrade over the years. On the afternoon of May 22, 2024, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Rizhao Port, the Xinhua News Agency reported at the time. Xi said that Rizhao Port, as a new port after China's reform and opening-up drive, has transformed itself from a traditional port into a modern one through scientific and technological innovation in recent years. It has not only made the cargo throughput among the forefront of the country, but also accumulated experience in developing new quality productive forces through the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, which is worthy of praise, Xi said, according to Xinhua. Currently, as global trade has encountered profound turbulence due to rising unilateralism and protectionism in certain parts of the world, China's focus on building modern ports and developing new quality productive forces underscore its unwavering commitment not only to high-quality development at home, but also to mutually beneficial trade with the rest of the world. This is also the underlying logic of China's development of the port economy: Let the world share China's opportunities. China is committed to building world-class ports to expand its 'circle of friends' of trading partners, contributing to the stability of global supply chains. 'Chinese model' Such a commitment translates into real action at Rizhao Port: autonomous trucks glide across the docks, guided by AI precision; Towering cranes, controlled remotely from a sleek command center, dance in perfect sync, unloading megaships with balletic grace. Behind this futuristic symphony of machines working seamlessly together are years of dedicated efforts to transform this once modest port into a high-tech titan, earning accolades as a 'Chinese model' for the transformation and upgrading of traditional terminals into fully automated container terminals worldwide. For Xu and his team, that means harnessing the country's latest technological advancements to empower the port's operation. Since last year, Xu's team sorted out and compiled a total of 400,000 paper maintenance log entries in the past 10 years for the port's dozens of wheel loaders and made all the information digitalized into a knowledge graph. 'In a way, we perpetuated old repair masters' wisdom through digitalization and AI,' Xu told the Global Times. The adoption of large language model is just one facets of the port's efforts in harnessing the hardcore power of technology to empower the port's smart operations. Tian Zhendong, a first-grade technician at the Technology Innovation Center of Rizhao Port of Shandong Port Group and a holder of the National May 1 Labor Medal, works at the port's 100-million-ton dry bulk cargo terminal. The terminal handles the transportation and storage of over 70 types of cargo across five major categories. Following recent technological upgrades, it is now home to over 80 sets of automated equipment across 10 major categories and operators control these machines from an office building located thousand meters away. In addition to remotely control portal cranes, a total of 24 industrial robots were employed to do the heavy and dirty job of cleaning coal-carrying rail cars and removing sticky coke. This solution alone has greatly improved unloading efficiency and slashed labor cost by 70 percent, Tian said. 'Our attitude toward automation is: once it's installed, we must use it. If we don't use it, we can't discover problems to help improve the system, and we can't truly enjoy the high efficiency automation brings,' Tian told the Global Times. Such a devotion from Tian and other workers at the port helped build the world's first parallel, open and fully automated container terminal, which handles about 6 million TEUs a year with dozens of operator-less ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) working in harmony around-the-clock. The automation resulted in a single machine efficiency boost by 50 percent and reduction in overall cost by 70 percent, according to Rizhao Port authorities. Green development Smart operation is just one aspect of Rizhao Port's transformation witnessed by Tian, who started working at the port in 1989 and a second-generation port worker. His father participated in the construction of Rizhao Port in the 1980s, witnessing the port's transformation from a small fishing village on the East China Sea coast into a major coal port in China. 'In the past, city residents who live nearby the port area can tell the main cargo being transported in the port in a given period by the color of the powder dust clinging on their windows - red is iron and black is coal,' Tian said. One defining moment of the port's history, Tian recalled, is a State Council guideline policy in 2022 stipulating support for Rizhao Port to become a smart and green demonstration port for bulk dry cargo. 'With the emphasis on ecological protection in the past decade and dedicated efforts in greening the port's operation area, we have a cleaner port and a cleaner city nowadays,' Tian said, 'The theme color of Rizhao Port's story has changed from one of red and black to one featuring green and blue.' Ultimately, efforts to ensure smart and green operations are aimed at bolstering Rizhao Port's core function of handling cargoes. And in that regard, the port has also seen remarkable achievements: the port is the world's youngest port achieving an annual throughput of 500 million tons; it ranks first in China in the throughput of seven types of goods, including iron ore, soybeans, petroleum and coke; and it has become a vital port supplying raw materials and bulk commodities to the 'World's Factory.' Powering exports During the visit to Rizhao Port in May 2024, Xi learned about the local progress in promoting the smart and green development of the port, and expanding the opening-up, according to Xinhua. Rizhao Port's transformation is aimed at not only supporting the country's high-quality development, but also promoting high-level opening-up. The point of having a world-class port lies in serving world-class trade, as some workers at Rizhao Port told the Global Times. In recent years, companies in and around Rizhao city have seized the opportunity to advance port-industry-city integration and leveraged the port's shipping links with more than 100 countries and regions. Rizhao Port served as a vital link efficiently bridging production resources with global demand and effectively facilitating the global expansion of more 'Made in China' products. Wuzheng Group, a major player in China's agricultural and commercial vehicle industry located in the nearby Wulian county, offers a prime example. Rizhao Port's advantages in land transportation, efficiency, and marine transportation costs have provided the company with efficient, economical, and reliable logistics services, giving its overseas businesses a high-quality boost, according to Liang Yong, head of the company's international cooperation department. 'A three-wheeled vehicle, great at traversing inferior roads, is produced every three minutes on average at our plant and most are sold overseas to countries in Africa, including Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tanzania,' Liang Yong, head of the company's international cooperation department, told the Global Times. In May, Wuzheng Group exported 1,000 diesel-powered tricycles customized for West African mining areas through Rizhao Port, setting a new record for a single shipment of Chinese diesel tricycles to Africa. Behind that number is real stories of how 'Made in China' products changing lives in countries and regions. Liang said that many African customers told him how the three-wheeled vehicles changed their lives and help them pursue better a life. Wuzheng Group is hardly alone in leveraging the advantages offered by Rizhao Port to expand exports. Rizhao Yulan Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park, which is located just 15 kilometers from the port area, is also one of the companies utilizing the resources brought by the Rizhao Port. The company's highly automated plant transforms steel rolls into tinplate, a premium product having great overseas demand for its use in the making of cans used for storing fast-moving consumer goods like infant formula and beverages. 'Most of Shandong's steel production occurs near Rizhao, where our facility is based,' Wang Dawei, deputy general manager of Rizhao Yulan New Materials Co, 'This grants us access to low-cost raw materials. At the same time, we benefit from the port's extensive shipping routes, facilitating our global exports.' With over 80 container shipping routes from Rizhao and over 360 shipping routes of Shandong Port Group, Rizhao Port is a major node in the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor as well as an important link of the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to more destinations of exports, the types of goods shipped from Rizhao have also expanded to include new products such as new-energy vehicles (NEVs). In March, a batch of NEVs from Rizhao Port were officially shipped, marking a leap in the port's business related to the 'new three' of China's tech-intensive and green exports - NEVs, photovoltaic products, and lithium batteries, according to local media reports. The development story of Rizhao Port provides a footnote for China's steadfast efforts to strengthen its connection and exchanges with the rest of the world despite rising unilateralism and protectionism. Building world-class ports is one major aspect of those efforts, and China has made great strides - China is now home to eight of the world's top 10 busiest ports in terms of cargo throughput and seven of the world's top 10 ports in terms of container throughput, data from the Ministry of Transport showed. 'Port serves trade, and automation can make a port better. It is precisely this pragmatic attitude toward technological transformation that has enabled us to achieve what we have done so far and empowers our pursuit of a better tomorrow,' Xu said. View original content: SOURCE Global Times
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tariffs on canola seen supercharging Canadian farmers' shift to spring wheat
By Ed White WINNIPEG, Canada (Reuters) -In the U.S. Great Plains, where spring wheat once dominated fields, farmers are turning away from the crop. But across the border in Canada, the pinch and prospect of Chinese and U.S. tariffs on canola have prompted farmers to pick up the slack on wheat. Farmers are still putting their crops in the ground, so it is not yet possible to know the extent of the acreage shift into wheat. However, early signs, based on interviews with more than 20 Canadian and U.S. farmers, agricultural analysts, traders and industry organizations, show that the grain primarily used to bake bread is proving to be a big winner in this year's global trade war. China's 100% tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil and its threat to impose duties on canola seed, amid President Donald Trump's broader global trade war, have rattled Canadian farmers, who since 1990 had nearly quadrupled their canola acres before paring back in recent years because of growing problems with drought, high production costs and crop diseases. Now, tariffs are expected to accelerate the likelihood that thousands of farmers could further cut back, adding up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of acres less canola, and more wheat, farmers and analysts estimated. "There is going to be a massive switch," said Jerry Klassen, a Manitoba farmer and market analyst with Resilient Capital. He has switched hundreds of acres on his own farm from canola to spring wheat this year and thinks like-minded farmers will do the same. Reuters' reporting on fallout from tariffs in grain markets illustrates how global trade turmoil is causing the neighboring countries to diverge on spring wheat production. Canada's rebounding supply of wheat has kept prices down for millers who fuel global bread demand as well as consumers. The shift to Canadian fields has also offset some worry about the long-term decline in U.S. production area. Politicians in Canada are funding and supporting the shift toward greater wheat production as a way to shield the thinly-populated agricultural export powerhouse of Western Canada from foreign pressure. And farmers have their own motivation: improved wheat varieties have boosted the grain's profitability. Adam Dyck of U.K. breadmaker Warburtons in Winnipeg said some Canadian farmers had tripled their production to 90 to 100 bushels per acre since the 1990s. The shift toward wheat reflects canola's vulnerability to tariffs. 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'POVERTY GRASS' Scott Huso, a farmer in Aneta, North Dakota, said that across the northern Great Plains, stretching from Minnesota to the Montana Rockies, farmers have been planting less wheat in favor of crops like corn and soybeans, which are generally more profitable. University of Minnesota data found that last year, farmers in central Minnesota earned hundreds of dollars in operating profit per acre with corn and soybeans, but lost money on spring wheat in 2024. "Wheat, you're not making money on it," Huso said. U.S. total hard red spring wheat production hasn't changed much since the mid-1990s because of substantial improvements in the amount grown per acre. However, total acres are in long-term decline, dropping from 15-20 million acres in the mid-1990s to 13-15 million in the mid-2000s to 10-13 million in the mid-2010s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on March 31 that it expects hard red spring wheat acreage in 2025 to drop to 9.4 million acres -- the lowest since 1970. Yet spring wheat is in great demand from the world's millers and bakers. Its high protein content allows it to be used as the base for top-quality bread flour, or as something to blend with lower-quality, cheaper wheats. The U.S. and Canadian plains are the most reliable major source of the world's high-quality spring wheat. Yet that doesn't always lead to the kind of premium prices U.S. farmers might need to justify growing the crop, with steady Canadian supplies and those from overseas competitors like Russia keeping millers comfortable enough to avoid bidding wars, a frustration for many U.S. farmers like Huso. "You just can't convince guys to love wheat these days," said Huso, a member of the North Dakota Wheat Commission. Committed wheat growers like him and organizations like the commission and export-focused U.S. Wheat Associates are trying to convince buyers to pay higher prices and breeders to produce better wheat crop varieties to help wheat compete for U.S. farmers' fields. It's been an uphill struggle. In Canada, the mood is different. Rather than getting knocked out of the crop roster, more farmers are warming to wheat. In May, farmer Korey Peters finished seeding 1,700 acres of spring wheat on his farm near Winnipeg. With new varieties providing more crop per acre, and canola costly and hard to grow profitably in his area, he said he's been putting more and more of his land into wheat and corn. "I know some people call it 'poverty grass,' but it works for us," Peters said. ($1 = 1.3691 Canadian dollars) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
37 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
New disputes emerge ahead of U.S.-China trade talks in London
BEIJING — U.S.-China trade talks in London this week are expected to take up a series of fresh disputes that have buffeted relations, threatening a fragile truce over tariffs. Both sides agreed in Geneva last month to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession. Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words about advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, 'rare earths' that are vital to carmakers and other industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities. President Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track. Trump announced on social media the next day that trade talks would be held Monday in London. The latest frictions began just a day after the May 12 announcement of the Geneva agreement to 'pause' tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. Commerce Department issued guidance saying the use of Ascend AI chips from Huawei, a leading Chinese tech company, could violate U.S. export controls. That's because the chips were probably developed with American technology despite restrictions on its export to China, the guidance said. The Chinese government wasn't pleased. One of its biggest beefs in recent years has been over U.S. moves to limit the access of Chinese companies to technology, and in particular to equipment and processes needed to produce the most advanced semiconductors. 'The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to immediately correct its erroneous practices,' a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wasn't in Geneva but will join the talks in London. Analysts say that suggests at least a willingness on the U.S. side to hear out China's concerns on export controls. One area where China holds the upper hand is in the mining and processing of rare earths. They are crucial for not only autos but also other products such as robots and military equipment. The Chinese government started requiring producers to obtain a license to export seven rare-earth elements in April. Resulting shortages sent automakers worldwide into a tizzy. As stockpiles ran down, some worried they would have to halt production. Trump, without mentioning rare earths specifically, took to social media to attack China. 'The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,' Trump posted on May 30. The Chinese government indicated Saturday that it is addressing the concerns, which have come from European companies as well. A Commerce Ministry statement said it had granted some approvals and 'will continue to strengthen the approval of applications that comply with regulations.' The scramble to resolve the rare-earth issue shows that China has a strong card to play if it wants to strike back against tariffs or other measures. Student visas don't normally figure in trade talks, but a U.S. announcement that it would begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students has emerged as another thorn in the relationship. The Chinese Commerce Ministry raised the issue when asked last week about the accusation that it had violated the consensus reached in Geneva. It replied that the U.S. had undermined the agreement by issuing export control guidelines for AI chips, stopping the sale of chip design software to China and saying it would revoke Chinese student visas. 'The United States has unilaterally provoked new economic and trade frictions,' the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a May 28 statement that the United States would 'aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.' More than 270,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S. in the 2023-24 academic year. Moritsugu writes for the Associated Press.
