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Added on the 15/05/2017 10:57:26 - Copyright : Euronews EN
A new cargo train will connect Italy and China directly, and the first service departed from the northern Italian city of Mortara on Tuesday, bound for China's Chengdu. The 11,000-killometer, or 6,800 mile, route stretches across the territories of Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan before crossing all of Western China to arrive in Chengdu. The trip takes around 18 days, almost 20 days less than shipping the cargo by sea. The train consists of 17 coaches and 34 containers which can carry equipment, electronics, furniture, and cars.
China's first direct freight train to the UK safely arrived at its destination in Barking, London on Wednesday, after embarking on a 7,500 mile journey through 14 countries from Yiwu, China. It was the first time that a freight train has completed this specific route. The train departed on New Year's Day and traveled through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France and finally along the Channel Tunnel, carrying 68 containers of cargo, including clothes, bags and other household items. Some 40 freight train routes linking Asia with 14 European cities have been established, constituting a trade route launched in 2013.
Foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, pose during a family photo ahead of the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road forum in Beijing. IMAGES
Surging inflation and severe slowdowns in the United States and China prompted the IMF to downgrade its outlook for the global economy this year and next, while warning that the situation could get much worse. SOUNDBITE
The IMF downgrades its forecast for global economic growth this year, citing the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which contributed to a slowdown in the United States and China. World GDP is forecast to expand 4.4 percent this year, half a point lower than its previous estimate released in October, says IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath. SOUNDBITE
Chinese technology giant Huawei criticises the latest US move to cut it off from semiconductor suppliers as a "pernicious" attack that will sow chaos in the global technology sector and other industries. "This decision is both arbitrary and pernicious and threatens to undermine the entire industry worldwide," a Huawei spokesman said. SOUNDBITE