NEWS in Brief

CHINESE MEDIA

China-South Asia Expo Held in China’s Yunnan

The 6th China-South Asia Exposition and the 26th China Kunming Import and Export Fair opened on November 19 in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

During the four-day session, held online and offline, people from 80 countries, regions, and international organizations participated and discussed the theme of “New Opportunities for New Development.”

A total of 13 pavilions on green energy, modern agriculture with plateau characteristics, biomedicine and health, advanced manufacturing, and tourism culture, etc., were set up.

The expo has become a platform for economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. More than 200 projects were signed at this year’s expo, with investments exceeding 400 billion yuan (US$56.2 billion).

Since the first expo took place in 2013, 89 countries, regions, and international organizations have participated, and 2,770 domestic and foreign projects have been inked, statistics show.

Exhibition of Excellent Chinese Audiovisual Programs Launched in Indonesia

The 2022 Audio-Visual China - Excellent Audio-Visual Program Indonesia exhibitionwas launched in Jakarta on November 7.

The director of the International Cooperation Department of China’s National Radio and Television Administration, Yan Chengsheng, announced the launch of the exhibition via video link.

The General Secretariat and the Department of International Cooperation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology extended congratulations.

Yan said that China and Indonesia have carried out a series of fruitful exchanges and cooperation in the fields of radio, television and online audio-visual in recent years, which uphold the principles of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and have made positive contributions to promoting people-to-people bonds and bilateral relations.

China-aided Phase II Rural Road Project in Cambodia Completed

The second phase of the China-aided rural road project in Cambodiahas come to an end successfully, building asphalt and concrete paved roads in a total length of 120 km.

Speaking at the ceremony on November 17, Cambodian Minister of Rural Development Ouk Rabun said the roads were an achievement for Cambodia under the Belt and Road cooperation with China, saying that they were necessary to boost rural economy and livelihoods.

Wu Guoquan, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, said that from 2017, the projects had constructed 25 rural roads of a total length of 155 km and two new bridges in eight Cambodian provinces.

“I believe that this project will contribute to further building a community with a shared future between China and Cambodia,” he added.

New Cargo Route Links Philippines’ Davao with China’s Tianjin

Tianjin Air Cargo, a cargo carrier based in China’s Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,has launched a direct cargo flight service connecting Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Davao City, an important economic center in the southern Philippines.

On November 22, the service’s first outbound flight left Nanning for Davao and arrived in the afternoon of the same day. The new route is the first all-cargo air route from China’s mainland to Davao.

The operation of the new route will open a safe, stable and fast air passage for the new Silk Road Economic Belt between China and the Philippines.

The route will be operated three times a week, mainly carrying a variety of e-commerce products, daily necessities and clothing.

China, UN Agency Provide Assistance to Lao School Kids

A launching ceremony for China contributing food and nutrition assistance, through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), to school children in Laos was held on November 22.As the first Global Development Initiative (GDI) project in Laos, around 930 tons of rice and 120 tons of canned fish are to be procured by the WFP with the support of China’s Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for lunches of some 130,000 students in 1,400 primary schools of Laos’ eight provinces.

The ceremony was inaugurated by Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Laos, Counselor Xiang Fangqiang, and Lao Minister of Education and Sports Phout Simmalavong.Simmalavong said, “This demonstrates the long-term friendship between our parties and governments as well as between the people of Laos and China.”

VOICES

“ASEAN centrality is the primary driving force for substantive dialogue and collaboration with our external partners through various ASEAN-led mechanisms.”

—Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sensaid at the closing ceremony of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits on November 13

“Action or inaction by the G20 will determine whether every member of our human family has a chance to live sustainably and peacefully on a healthy planet.”

—United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterressaid at a press conference ahead of the 17th G20 Summit on November 14

“As host of APEC 2022, Thailand introduced the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy model into the APEC's conversation as an approach to achieving sustainability and climate objectives.”

—Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-chasaid at the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on November 18

7.2million

More than7.2 millionpassengers have used the China-built Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi after nearly a year of operation. The country’s first metro line sees on average 32,000 passengers daily. The metro line helps to contribute to the city’s increasing public transport capacity which has reached over 30 percent, deputy director of Hanoi Public Transport Management Center Thai Ho Phuong said. According to local transport expert Le Trung Hieu, following a year of official operation, the metro line has achieved four major goals of safety, attracting passengers and reducing the use of private vehicles, gaining experience in urban railway management and operation, while clearing all doubts on urban rail lines.

到了文藝圈，飯局就換了格調(diào)，變成了雅集。此類文化人的飯局在歷史上數(shù)不勝數(shù)。但是，從書(shū)畫(huà)藝術(shù)史的角度來(lái)說(shuō)，最具影響力的飯局有兩個(gè)：一個(gè)是東晉永和九年(353)三月初三在會(huì)稽山陰舉辦的蘭亭修禊雅集，一個(gè)是發(fā)生在北宋元祐 二年(1087)的西園雅集。蘭亭修禊雅集之所以出名是因?yàn)橥豸酥淖?，而西園雅集之所以出名是因?yàn)槔罟氲漠?huà)和米芾的題記。除此而外，由此帶來(lái)的后世畫(huà)家不遺余力的描繪，更是讓這兩次雅集成為中國(guó)繪畫(huà)的重要?jiǎng)?chuàng)作母題。以此為題材創(chuàng)作的大量作品與王羲之的《蘭亭集序》、李公麟的《西園雅集圖》，共同構(gòu)筑出中國(guó)繪畫(huà)史上一道綿延不絕的亮麗風(fēng)景線。

10.6%

A report released by the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) on November 5 showed that China remained a major buyer of Cambodia’s milled rice in the first 10 months of 2022. Cambodia is expected to export more milled rice to China in coming years thanks to the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) earlier this year, Song Saran, president of CRF, has said. From January to October, Cambodia’s milled rice exports to international markets reached 509,249 tons, up10.6 percentyearon-year, earning gross revenue of US$324 million, the report said, adding that the milled rice had been shipped to 56 countries and regions.

10million

The total quantity of freight transported by the China-Laos Railway had exceeded10 milliontons. Among the total, the cross-border cargo transportation volume topped 1.8 million tons, with its value hitting 12 billion yuan (about US$1.7 billion). So far, 25 provincial-level regions in China have operated international freight trains on the China-Laos Railway, and freight transportation has covered countries and regions including Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore. The cargo has expanded to more than 1,200 categories, including chemical fertilizers, electronic and photovoltaic products, and cold-chain fruits. The China-Laos Railway, which kicked off operations on December 3, 2021, stretches over 1,000 km, linking Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, with the Laotian capital Vientiane.

ASEAN MEDIA

The StarNovember 24, 2022

Anwar takes oath as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

The Pakatan Harapan chairman took his oath of office before the King at 5pm in Istana Negara here.

A special meeting was held at 11am on November 24 among the Malay rulers. The special meeting was held to allow the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to seek the opinion of his fellow rulers on the formation of the new government.

VNANovember 18, 2022

Vietnam, China bolster customs collaboration

The eighth dialogue between the Customs Departments of three northeast provinces—Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh—and their counterpart in Nanning, China, took place in Lang Son on November 18 in virtual form.Both sides noted that after the seventh dialogue, thanks to their joint efforts, customs clearance of goods through border gates have been improved with higher efficiency.

However, limitations remain due to the implementation of disease control measures in border gates area, hindering import-export activities at times.

They agreed on a number of cooperation contents and programmes which will be deployed in the coming time.

This year, customs agencies of the two countries have detected and handled 189 cases of smuggling goods worth over 5.1 trillion VND (US$204 million).

Bangkok PostNovember 20, 2022

Xi’s maiden Thai visit yields ‘positive dialogue’

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on November 19 welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at Government House after Mr Xi attended the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bangkok.

During Mr Xi’s visit, the two sides signed a joint action plan on Thai-Chinese strategic cooperation between 2022 and 2026, as well as the Thai-Chinese cooperation plan jointly promoting the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said after the meeting that this was Mr Xi’s first official visit to Thailand as president, having come to the country as vice president in 2011. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Thai-Chinese comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the countries are looking forward to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, Mr Anucha said.

The Straits TimesNovember 7, 2022

Opportunities for Singapore companies in China’s digitalisation, sustainability space

Local companies can look for opportunities in the digitalisation and sustainability segments of the Chinese market, said Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong on November 7.

He was speaking at the 5th Singapore-China Trade and Investment Forum at the SBF Centre in Tanjong Pagar.

The one-day forum is organised by the Singapore Business Federation and is being held simultaneously at the Crowne Plaza Shanghai Hongqiao hotel in China.

To boost business relations between Singapore and Chinese companies, six memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on logistics, digital innovation, education and cosmetic products were signed.

It is important that both countries work together to overcome challenges amid a pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties, said Mr Chua Teng Hoe, the Singapore Consul-General in Shanghai.