The government of the Chinese city of Shanghai is cutting some fees to defuse striking truck drivers' anger over high fuel prices, an official spokesman said on Saturday, after days of confrontation earlier this week disrupted the world's busiest port.
The Shanghai government's promised steps, which include "lowering standard fees and removing non-standard fees," came after the strike made global headlines amid worries the strike could disrupt trade flows in China's biggest commercial hub.
Shanghai is actively taking measures to respond to the strike, the official Xinhua news agency reported early on Saturday, citing an unidentified Shanghai government spokesman. All ports in Shanghai were operating normally, the spokesman added. Separately, the Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority said on Saturday it would cancel certain fees, such as fuel surcharge, while lowering a few other fees for the container road transport sector.
The new measures, which also specified how certain fees should be charged and promised help to companies facing operational difficulties, were aimed at "easing rising inflation and cost pressures on transport companies," the port authority said in a statement on its website, without mentioning the strike by the truck drivers. Up to now, Shanghai officials have not commented publicly about the strike, a boldly public demonstration of anger over rising consumer prices and fuel price increases in China.