Latest news with #CFoto
RTHK
22-05-2025
- Climate
- RTHK
Fears for 21 as landslides hit Guizhou
Fears for 21 as landslides hit Guizhou A deluge in Guizhou has left Chishui River in Maotai town swollen. Photo: CFoto/AFP Twenty-one people have been trapped after torrential rain triggered landslides in southwestern Guizhou province on Thursday, with the military deployed to assist in rescue efforts. One landslide struck Qingyang village trapping 19 people from eight different households, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing preliminary reports. A further two were trapped in nearby Changshi township, Xinhua news agency reported. Authorities also issued risk warnings for geological disasters in nearby areas. China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change. The country is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, authorities have said, because of its huge population. Authorities initiated its third highest emergency response for heavy rain in mountainous Guizhou as well as the nearby provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi. More than 400 emergency staff including military officers and firefighters were sent to assist in the rescue mission. Heavy rains over the past week in Guangdong as well as Guangxi region have killed seven people and left several missing with authorities issuing warnings for severe rain, mountain flooding and geological disasters in the south of the country. Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken. (Reuters)
RTHK
09-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Chinese exports up even as US shipments plunge
Chinese exports up even as US shipments plunge Piles of foreign trade containers await shipment at a terminal of Shanghai Port. Photo: CFoto/AFP Chinese exports rose last month despite the trade war raging with the United States, official data showed on Friday ahead of talks between the world's top two economies towards easing the standoff. Experts said that the forecast-smashing 8.1-percent rise indicated that Beijing was re-routing trade to Southeast Asia to mitigate US tariffs of up to 145 percent on Chinese imports imposed by President Donald Trump. Trade between the world's two largest economies has slumped since Trump imposed the tariffs and China responded with levies of 125 percent and other measures. The year-on-year increase in exports of 8.1 percent in April was much higher than the 2 percent forecast by analysts in a poll last month. The data from the Chinese customs bureau showed exports to Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam surged by double digits, in what one analyst called a "structural repositioning" of trade. "The global supply chain is being rerouted in real time," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a note. "Vietnam looks set to become China's offshore escape hatch for US-facing goods," he said. "The manufacturing juggernaut is diverting flow wherever the tariff pain isn't." Month-on-month exports to the United States plunged 17.6 percent. Analysts at ANZ Research said the data revealed "it is difficult to exclude China from the global supply chain in the short term, considering China's role in manufacturing." "The implied supply chain realignment as well as the expected outcome of Asia-US trade talks suggests no imminent collapse in China exports," they added. Global markets have been on a rollercoaster since Trump began his tariff offensive aimed according to the White House at bringing back manufacturing to the United States. While Trump has suspended for 90 days many of the most painful levies, those on China have remained in place. Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, also attributed the forecast-beating exports to "transshipment through other countries." But he also cited potential "trade contracts that were signed before the tariffs were announced." "I expect trade data will weaken in the next few months." Imports were also being closely watched as a key gauge of consumer demand in China, which has remained sluggish. They also beat expectations, dropping 0.2 percent, compared with the 6-percent slide analysts had estimated. (AFP)
