International

Luxury cruiser to open new chapter in shipbuilding and tourism

The first large-tonnage luxury cruise ship in China, built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, is expected to be unveiled by the end of 2023. The move is to mark a major breakthrough in the field of large-scale cruise ship construction in the country, according to insiders.

The gross tonnage of the ship is said to reach 135,500 metric tons, with a total length of 323.6 meters and a width of 37.2 meters. With 2,125 rooms, the ship can accommodate a maximum of 5,246 passengers.

When aboard, guests will be able to visit a large-scale performance center, specialty restaurants, various bars, cafes and shopping malls. During their journey, they can also have a culturally enriching experience in the art corridors, children’s centers, water parks and other facilities.

Unlike cargo ships, building a cruise ship is like building a “mobile city”, said Ma Wangkou, a researcher of China Cruise Technology Development. It is much more difficult to achieve a good design, a complex core system and integrated supporting facilities and at the same time ensure passengers’ safety and meet environmental requirements, he said.

For this reason, China has built a close connection with world-class shipbuilding enterprises and made strides in construction to overcome any shortcomings in experience, core technology and equipment.

“Building large cruise ships has been a dream of Chinese shipbuilders for generations,” said Ye Xinliang, deputy head of the School of Management Studies of Shanghai University of Engineering Science, who has studied the cruise industry for years.

China has grown into one of the few major shipbuilding countries in the world. However, the bulk of its products are cargo ships, which have low added value.

The cruise-driven economy is closely related to the economic development of a country and its shipbuilding industry, Ye said. He added that cruise ship construction directly reflects a country’s comprehensive scientific and technological development and industrial capacity. Such advanced technologies bring China the potential to tap into this powerful part of the tourism industry.

Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Springtour Travel Agency, said that accord

ing to the studies of the company since 2012, cruise tourism has attracted a large proportion of outbound tourists. As a tourism industry insider, he is excited to learn that the Chinese-made cruise ship will make its debut in 2023.

“This signals that a more complete industrial chain of China’s cruise industry is taking shape, and at the same time, it injects new impetus into the cruise tourism business,” Zhou said. “Domestic cruise ships enjoy home advantages in terms of safety, comfort and environmental protection, which means they will have greater attraction for Chinese tourists.”

International

10 % ON EXPORTS TO US

US President Donald Trump says it’s Liberation Day in America as he announced his sweeping new tariffs. The new measures took effect at midnight. Since taking office in January, Trump has imposed several of the measures.

US President Donald Trump has announced a 10 percent universal tariff on all imports into the country. This includes Barbadian exports to the American market. According to Mr. Trump, the tariff is in retaliation for the 10 per cent tariff now charged by Jamaica on U.S. imports.

The tariff means American consumers are likely to see an increase in the price of Jamaican goods sold on the U.S. market.

St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Belize, Suriname, St. Kitts and Antigua are among the Caribbean countries that will also see a 10% tariff applied to their exports.

Nearly 60 countries across the world have been hit with tariffs ranging from 10 per cent to as high as 49 per cent. China, countries in the European Union, Taiwan and Vietnam are among the hardest hit. It’s one of the most sweeping impositions of tariffs in U.S. history.

Trump says the tariffs are aimed at protecting American markets from unfair global trade practices. He’s projecting a resurgence in American manufacturing as a result of the sweeping tariffs.

International

China’s Xi Jinping tells top global CEOs to use their influence to defend trade

Gathering of senior business leaders in Beijing comes amid rising tensions with US

Xi Jinping has urged global business leaders to work together to protect supply chains at a meeting with a group of executives including Rajesh Subramaniam of FedEx, Ola Källenius of Mercedes-Benz and Georges Elhedery of HSBC.

Amid a deepening trade war with the US, the Chinese leader told the group of more than 40 business leaders, which also included Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, Miguel Ángel López Borrego of Thyssenkrupp and Amin Nasser of Saudi Aramco, that foreign business leaders should resist behaviours that “turn back the clock” on history.

“We hope everyone can take a broad and long-term view . . . and not blindly follow actions that disrupt the security and stability of global industrial chains and supply chains, but instead contribute more positive energy and certainty to global development,” Xi told the gathering in Beijing on Friday.

The event at the Great Hall of the People marked the second consecutive year that Xi held a carefully staged meeting with foreign chief executives in the Chinese capital. Last year’s event was held exclusively with US business leaders.

The meeting came at the conclusion of a busy week for Chinese policymakers, who are trying to strengthen relations with international business amid rising tensions with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

China’s premier annual CEO conference, the China Development Forum, was held in Beijing this week, followed by the Boao Forum for Asia in the tropical resort island of Hainan. Beijing is seeking to promote itself as a bastion of stability in global trade in contrast to the US, where Trump has launched successive waves of tariffs on products from aluminium to cars. The president has vowed widespread, reciprocal duties on US trading partners on April 2, threatening further disruption to international trade.

“A few countries are building ‘small yards with high walls’, setting up tariff barriers, and politicising, instrumentalising, weaponising, and over-securitising economic and trade issues,” said Xi, who was accompanied by his foreign, commerce and finance ministers.

He said these actions were forcing companies “to take sides and make choices that go against economic principles”. “This runs counter to the overarching trend of open markets,” he said. He added that foreign enterprises, especially multinational corporations, had “considerable international influence”.

“We hope everyone will . . . resist regressive moves that turn back the clock,” Xi said. “Together, we must safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains. “Decoupling and severing ties harms others without benefiting oneself; it leads nowhere.”

International

US to Negotiate with Regional Governments on Hiring of Cuban Doctors

US special envoy to the Caribbean and Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, says the United States intends to negotiate a mechanism with Caribbean governments regarding the hiring of Cuban doctors.

The US has threatened visa restrictions for nations who benefit from Cuban medical missions. They deem the programme as a form of forced labour and trafficking on the part of the Cuban government.

Several countries in the Caribbean rely heavily on Cuban medical missions to supplement local staff.

The special envoy says the US wants a united voice against human trafficking, in favour of international labour laws. He says they look forward to reaching a deal that allows Caribbean governments to directly hire Cuban doctors.