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Saudi Arabia Launches First Electric Bus

The first electric public transport bus in the Kingdom was inaugurated on Thursday in the city of Jeddah. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The first electric public transport bus in the Kingdom was inaugurated on Thursday in the city of Jeddah. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Launches First Electric Bus

The first electric public transport bus in the Kingdom was inaugurated on Thursday in the city of Jeddah. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The first electric public transport bus in the Kingdom was inaugurated on Thursday in the city of Jeddah. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has inaugurated on Thursday the first electric public transport bus in the Kingdom in the city of Jeddah. The step comes as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2030.

The latest models of electric passenger buses, which are being operated by SAPTCO, will provide services to the residents of the Jeddah governorate within the public transport routes.

During a ceremony on Thursday, Acting Chairman of the Public Transport Authority (PTA) Dr. Rumaih Al-Rumaih inaugurated the bus service, in the presence of Mayor of Jeddah Governorate Saleh Al-Turki, and President of the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) Eng. Khaled Al-Hogail.

In a statement, PTA noted that the move falls within the objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2030, and contribute to raising the quality of life in central cities through environmentally friendly means of transport.

The authority added that the bus can travel a distance of 300 kilometers on a single charge, and is considered as one of the modern buses with high efficiency, as it consumes less than 10 percent electricity compared to other electric buses.

In remarks on the occasion, Al-Rumaih said that Saudi Arabia has achieved remarkable development in the transport sector, including the type of fuel used, such as hydrogen and clean fuel, with the aim to reduce emissions from vehicles by 25 percent.

Regarding future plans, he stated that the PTA and the Jeddah governorate were seeking to provide public transport service in medium-sized cities such as Jazan, Sabya, Abu Arish, Taif, and Qassim during this year.
He added that the public transport service will also be launched in Tabuk, Al-Ahsa, and other cities.

“We are working on using other alternatives for taxis and public transport, and we have various tests to use alternatives that reduce carbon emissions, as a target for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, until we reach a 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions in transportation, leading to clean energy,” the head of the PTA underlined.

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China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
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China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

China announced Friday that it will raise tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While US President Donald Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying" and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

Washington's repeated raising of tariffs “will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement announcing the new tariffs. “However, if the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China’s interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end.”

China’s Commerce Ministry said it would file another lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US tariffs.

“There are no winners in a tariff war,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV. “For more than 70 years, China has always relied on itself ... and hard work for development, never relying on favors from anyone, and not fearing any unreasonable suppression.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday said China stands firm against Trump’s tariffs not only to defend its own rights and interests but also to “safeguard the common interests of the international community to ensure that humanity is not dragged back into a jungle world where might makes right.”

Wang made the remarks when he met Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Beijing. Wang said China will “work together with other countries to jointly resist all retrogressive actions in the world.”

Trump's on-again, off-again measures have caused alarm in stock and bond markets and led some to warn that the US could be headed for a recession. There was some relief when Trump paused the tariffs for most countries — but concerns remain since the US and China are the world's No. 1 and No. 2 economies, respectively.

“The risk that this escalating trade war tips the world into a recession is rising as the two largest and most powerful countries in the world continue to punch back with higher and higher tariffs,” Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital markets, wrote Friday. “No one truly knows when this will end.”

Chinese tariffs will affect goods like soybeans, aircrafts and their parts and drugs — all among the country's major imports from the US Beijing, meanwhile, suspended sorghum, poultry and bonemeal imports from some American companies last week, and put more export controls on rare earth minerals, critical for various technologies.

The United States' top imports from China, meanwhile, include electronics, like computers and cell phones, industrial equipment and toys — and consumers and businesses are likely to see prices rise on those products, with tariffs now at 145%.

Trump announced on Wednesday that China would face 125% tariffs, but he did not include a 20% tariff on China tied to its role in fentanyl production.

White House officials hope the import taxes will create more manufacturing jobs by bringing production back to the United States — a politically risky trade-off that could take years to materialize, if at all.