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Second Cold Wave Envelops China's Beijing in Snow, Ice

People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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Second Cold Wave Envelops China's Beijing in Snow, Ice

People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Snow, blizzards and plunging temperatures swept northern China in what could be one of its most severe cold snaps in December, spurring authorities in the capital to halt train services, shut schools and tell people to stay home.
A mass of cold air drifted into Beijing from the west, the second cold wave this week. City officials have issued the second-highest alert for blizzards through Thursday, the only such warning yet in the country, Reuters reported.
To avert chaos threatened by what was expected to be a "long-lasting" round of snowfall, the city of nearly 22 million shut all schools from Wednesday and moved classes online. Businesses were told to offer employees flexible working conditions and staggered commutes.
Scenic spots in the mountainous north and west have been temporarily shut.
Some railway services with key cities, such as the commercial hub of Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan, were suspended. Trains that still ran went at slower speed, causing delays. But Beijing's Capital Airport continued to operate.
Beijing could face temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius (minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend, compared to the mid-December average of about minus 8 C (17.6 F).
Even Shanghai in the south, now experiencing balmy weather of 20 degrees Celsius (68 F), is forecast to be buffeted by weather as frigid as minus 4 C (24.8 F) on Saturday and Sunday.
More than 6,000 rescuers have been put on call for road emergency rescues and more than 5,800 sets of snow-removal equipment and machinery are on standby.
About 32,000 metric tons of snow-thawing agent has been readied for use on icy roads and motorways.
City officials canvassed volunteers to clear snow and shovel ice, in addition to 73,000 people on duty to tackle these tasks, and ordered indoor heating stepped up.
Beijing last experienced such cold weather on Jan. 7, 2021, when the temperature fell to minus 19.6 C (minus 3.28 F). The city's all-time low of minus 27.4 C (minus 17.32 F), was recorded on Feb. 22, 1966.
This week's cold snap, compared with the autumn-like conditions of a week ago, reflects recent sharp temperature swings. October was one of Beijing's warmest in decades, in a year of weather extremes.

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China’s Xi Jinping Will Visit Russia in 2025, Russian Ambassador Says

Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets the audience at a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and its handover to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in Macao, China, 20 December 2024. (EPA/ Xinhua / Xie Huanchi)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets the audience at a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and its handover to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in Macao, China, 20 December 2024. (EPA/ Xinhua / Xie Huanchi)
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China’s Xi Jinping Will Visit Russia in 2025, Russian Ambassador Says

Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets the audience at a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and its handover to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in Macao, China, 20 December 2024. (EPA/ Xinhua / Xie Huanchi)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets the audience at a meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and its handover to China and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in Macao, China, 20 December 2024. (EPA/ Xinhua / Xie Huanchi)

China's President Xi Jinping will visit Russia in 2025, Russia's state-run RIA news agency quoted Moscow's ambassador to Beijing as saying early on Friday.

"As for concrete bilateral events, I can say that the appropriate plans are actively being drawn up," ambassador Igor Morgulov told RIA.

"What can be said that is no secret, in terms of priority, is that the chairman of the People's Republic of China is expected in Russia next year."

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation from Reuters.

Putin visited China in February 2022, proclaiming a "no limits" partnership days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. He was in Beijing again last May, after his re-election by a landslide, welcoming a "new era" of relations focusing on opposition to US policy.

Xi was received in the Kremlin as a "dear friend " in 2023 after he obtained an unprecedented third term in office.

Morgulov also told RIA that China, which has refrained from condemning Russia's 34-month-old war in Ukraine, understood the basis for the conflict "inasmuch as they are coming up against many of the same challenges -- the US and its allies are boosting pressure on China in the Asia-Pacific region".

NATO, he said, is "devising plans to move its military infrastructure" into the region.

Russia and China had to respond to US policy jointly, he said.

"In the international arena, it is up to our countries to respond further with a 'dual counter-action' to the 'dual deterrence' which the West is trying to pursue with regard to Russia and China," RIA quoted him as saying.

China, working with Brazil, has put forward a peace plan for the Ukraine war, calling for a freezing of battle lines and taking into account the security interests of both sides.

Russia has expressed support for the proposals.

Ukraine, which has proposed its own plans to end the conflict - the latest of which includes a request for NATO membership - has dismissed the China-Brazil initiative as serving Moscow's interests.

Russian forces currently occupy about 20% of Ukraine's territory and have recently been advancing at their fastest pace since the early days of the war.