04/14 TOP NEWS | 坐火车去老挝！中老铁路开通/国际邮轮复航/ 一季度外贸“开门稳”

NEWS ON 04/131.CHINA-LAOS RAILWAY OPENS TO THE PUBLIC中老铁路国际旅客列车开行2.CRUISES ARE READY TO SET SAIL AFTER A THREE-YEAR HALT停航三年后，上海港将重启邮轮国际航线3.FOREIGN TRADE INCREASES IN Q1一季度我国外贸进出口增速转正----------------记得点亮右下角的爱心哦-----------------1.CHINA-LAOS RAILWAY OPENS TO THE PUBLIC中老铁路国际旅客列车开行The China-Laos Railway opened to the public today. The first passenger train departed at 8:08 a.m. from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, on its way to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Lei Shuran has more.4月13日，中老铁路双向运行的国际旅客列车正式开行。北京时间8时8分，首趟客运列车从云南省会昆明出发，前往老挝首都万象。记者雷舒然带来更多报道。

All 720 seats for the first train were sold out within three hours of going on sale. The train contained 9 carriages【车厢】, with three for passengers going to Laos.首趟列车的720个座位在开售后三小时内全部售罄。列车共9节车厢，其中3节是前往老挝的国际旅客车厢。

Passenger旅客“我们俩打算先从老挝的琅勃拉邦玩起，主要是看人文，然后再去老挝万荣，听说那里是徒步的天堂，最后再去老挝的万象。”“We plan to start our journey in Luang Prabang, where we will check out the local culture. Then we'll visit Vang Vieng, as it's known as one of the best places for hiking. And finally, we will go to Vientiane.”

The trip between Kunming and Vientiane takes 10 hours and 30 minutes with trains traveling at a max speed of 160 kilometers per hour. Staff aboard the train speak Lao, Mandarin and Dai--the dialect of an ethnic minority group in Yunnan.昆明至万象全程10小时30分钟，列车最高时速为160公里。火车上的工作人员会说老挝语、普通话和傣语（云南一个少数民族的方言）。

Passenger旅客“我这是第九次来老挝。乘船特别慢，要三天，乘大巴持续几十个小时特别累，但是这次我乘坐中国高铁可以一步到位。”“It is my ninth trip to Laos. Previously it took me three days on the ship, which was very slow. Traveling by bus takes dozens of hours and is very tiring. I think the high-speed railway solves all these problems.”

At 9:08 a.m., the first train from Vientiane departed for Kunming. The train also had 9 carriages and 720 seats. There are eight stations along the route, and the journey takes ten and a half hours, including time spent passing customs【海关】.北京时间9时8分，第一列火车从万象出发前往昆明。这列火车也有9节车厢和720个座位。沿途有八个车站，全程十个半小时，包括通过海关的时间。

Chinese Businessman in Laos在老挝经商的华人“（之前）我记得是要转三次车，就很麻烦，拎着行李也很累。现在直接到国内，一个是时间上节约了成本，再一个手续上会更简单一点。”“In the past, I needed to change buses three times. It was troublesome as I usually took luggage. Now it takes less time and is way easier to travel between the two countries.”Travelers are required to pass customs in both Mohan, China and Boten, Laos. The Boten Station doesn't offer visas on arrival, so Chinese travelers need a visa in advance.旅客在中国磨憨和老挝磨丁两个口岸都需要办理通关手续。老挝磨丁铁路口岸还不支持落地签，所以中国旅客需要提前办理签证。

Lou Kewei, Deputy Director of Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism娄可伟 云南省文化和旅游厅副厅长“下一步我们将进一步加强中老铁路文化旅游经济带规划，完善项目建设和产品设计，让中老铁路国际列车带来的游客流量，成为中老命运共同体建设的重要推手。”“We now plan to improve tourist attractions along the railway route and attract more tourists from Laos, which will improve cooperation and development between the two countries.”

A first-class ticket from South Kunming Station to Vientiane Station costs 864 yuan, while it's 542 yuan for a second-class ticket.从昆明南站到万象站的一等座票价为864元，二等座票价为542元。

2.CRUISES ARE READY TO SET SAIL AFTER A THREE-YEAR HALT停航三年后，上海港将重启邮轮国际航线Chinese Ministry of Transport said last month that trials on international cruises transportation would be restored【恢复】after a three-year suspension. The ministry also said the restoration will take place first in Beijing and Shanghai. China Merchants Viking Cruises, a joint venture【合资企业】between Viking Cruises and China Merchants, announced that it is going to begin a route to Japan departing from Shanghai or Shenzhen on June 18th. Zhang Hong has more.交通运输部上个月表示，停航三年的国际邮轮运输将试点复航。交通部还表示，复航工作将首先在北京和上海进行。招商维京游轮是维京游轮和招商局的合资企业，该企业宣布将于6月18日开通从上海或深圳出发的日本航线。记者张泓带来详细报道。

After a five-day trip to the city of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, a Viking Cruise ship docked at Hongkou district's SIPG Cruise City this morning. The ship resumed sailing on March 26th, and it is going to begin international cruise routes in two months.4月13日上午，在对浙江省舟山市进行了为期五天的访问后，一艘维京游轮停靠在虹口区的上港邮轮城。该船于3月26日恢复航行，并将在两个月后开启国际航线。

Chen Weiyun, Senior Marketing VP of China Merchants Viking Cruises陈炜芸 招商维京游轮产品开发兼营销高级副总裁“该航线预计于6月18日起航，现在在做准备工作，敲定航线的细节，比如我们团队已经到日本的各个目的地去踩点，为岸上游览行程做准备，我们也在准备港务工作和最后的审批工作。”“Our new route to Japan will start on June 18th, and we are still working on details. Our team members have been visiting different locations in Japan, so that visitors will have a better experience. Some materials and paperwork still need to be examined by port officials.”

Chen said the Japan route, which starts from Shanghai, will cover destinations such as Osaka, Nagasaki, and Nagoya. Tickets will be available from April 20th, and visitors don't need to apply for a Visa.陈炜芸说，日本航线将从上海出发，途经大阪、长崎、名古屋、广岛等日本热门目的地，船票将于4月20日正式开售，游客全程无须办理签证。

Chen Weiyun, Senior Marketing VP of China Merchants Viking Cruises陈炜芸 招商维京游轮产品开发兼营销高级副总裁“我们是以目的地为主导的航线，宾客们有更多的时间来岸上体验当地的文化。我们是小型的邮轮，仅能承载不到1000名乘客，船上有不一样的氛围，全船客房都有阳台。”“Visitors will have plenty of time to experience authentic local cultures while on shore. We are a small-sized cruise, which can only accommodate 1,000 people. However, every guest room has a balcony for people to get fresh air.”

The Ministry of Transport also said more ports across the nation will likely to follow based on industry performance in Beijing and Shanghai. Royal Caribbean China also said it is going to resume sailing soon. The port of Shanghai said it is now making preparations for a full recovery.交通部还表示，根据北京和上海的行业表现，全国更多港口将可能跟进复航。皇家加勒比中国公司也表示将很快恢复航行。上海港称，目前正在为全面恢复做准备。

Xu Yuhui, General Manager of Shanghai Port徐珏慧 上海港国际客运中心开发有限公司总经理“（我们）把很多设施设备都做了新的提升和改造，我们和船方也做了很多周密的关于船舶靠离泊、关于旅客上下船的动线的计划和演练，目前其实一切都是就绪的。”“We have renovated and updated many of our facilities and equipment. Drills have also been conducted by cruise companies and us, in terms of how passengers can board and disembark the ship. Everything is about to be ready now.”

China became the second-largest cruise market in 2016, second only to the United States.从2016年起，中国已成为仅次于美国的全球第二大邮轮客源市场。

3.FOREIGN TRADE INCREASES IN Q1一季度我国外贸进出口增速转正Foreign trade expanded nearly 5 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Administration of Customs. Lei Shuran breaks down the main details.根据海关总署发布的数据，2023年第一季度对外贸易同比增长近5%。记者雷舒然带来详细报道。

The administration announced today during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that total trade expanded 4.8 percent on a yearly basis to 9.89 trillion yuan in Q1, reversing a decline of 0.8 percent in the first two months of the year. Exports grew 8.4 percent year on year, while imports increased 0.2 percent during the period.国务院新闻办公室于4月13日举行新闻发布会，海关总署在会上宣布，第一季度贸易总额同比增长4.8%，达到9.89万亿元，扭转了今年前两个月下降0.8%的局面。在此期间，出口同比增长8.4%，而进口增长0.2%。

Lyu Daliang, Spokesperson of Genral Administration of Customs吕大良 海关总署新闻发言人、统计分析司司长“今年1月份，受春节假期影响，进出口下降7%。2月‘由负转正’，当月增长8%，3月同比增速提升到15.5%，呈现逐月向好态势。”“In January this year, imports and exports were affected by the Spring Festival holiday, leading to a 7 percent decline. Trade improved in February, rising 8 percent, while in March the year-on-year growth rate rose to 15.5 percent, showing an improving monthly trend.”

Lyu added that foreign trade has “displayed resilience【韧性】in the first quarter” amid weakening external demand, and that steady growth “laid a foundation for promoting stability and improving the quality of foreign trade”.吕大良补充说，面对当前外需减弱的挑战，“一季度我国外贸进出口展现了较强韧性”，开局稳中向好，“为全年实现外贸促稳提质打下基础”。

Lyu Daliang, GAC Spokesperson吕大良 海关总署新闻发言人、统计分析司司长“我们新优势产品表现十分亮眼，一季度电动载人汽车、锂电池、太阳能电池‘新三样’产品合计出口增长66.9%，同比增量超过1000亿元，拉高了出口整体增速2个百分点，比去年的拉动力进一步增强。”“New advantageous products have performed brightly. In the first quarter, the combined exports of electric passenger cars, lithium batteries and solar cell products jumped 66.9 percent. This was a year-on-year increase of more than 100 billion yuan, which pulled up the overall export growth rate by 2 percentage points, and demonstrated stronger growth momentum compared to last year.”

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's largest trade partner in the first quarter. Trade with ASEAN countries rose 16.1 percent year on year, 11.3 percentage points higher than the country's overall trade growth rate.第一季度，东盟仍然是我国第一大贸易伙伴。与东盟国家的贸易同比增长16.1%，比我国总体贸易增长率高11.3个百分点。

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