News in Brief

China Releases New DatabaseOn Biodiversity

China has released an updated national speciesdatabase， known as the Catalogue of Life China 2022Annual Checklist， according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） on May 22.

The checklist of this year added 10，343 speciescompared with the 2021 checklist， bringing the totalnumber of species to 138，293， including 68，172 animalspecies， 46，725 plant species， and 17，173 fungi species， among others.

The species checklist provides data basis that isbeneficial for biodiversity research， conservation andpolicy-making， said an official with Biodiversity Committee under the CAS， adding that China is the only country thatpublishes the biological species checklist every year.

Cambodian， Chinese Entrepreneurs Meet to Explore Business Opportunities

The 2022 Cambodia-China Trade and Investment Forum was convened in a hybrid format on May 18， exploring ways to further boost business relations.

Held under the theme“Share Development Opportunities and Create RegionalProsperity，” the forum was attended by some 100 business executives in person and dozens of others via video link.

Speaking at the event， Cambodian Ministry of Commerces Secretary of State SeangThay said China is the largest investor and top trading partner of Cambodia.Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming， who participated in the forumvia video link from Beijing， said the meeting was very important to promote thedevelopment of China-Cambodia economic and trade relations.

Indonesia Removes Outdoor Face Mask Mandate

As the number of reported COVID-19 cases is showing a declining trend， the Indonesian government announced on May 17 that the use of face masks would no longer bemandatory in outdoor spaces.

“The government has decided to lift more restriction policy. Wearing face masks isno longer mandatory when doing outdoor activities or gathering in outdoor spaces.However， people still have to wear masks indoors and inside public transportations，”Indonesian President Joko Widodo said.

The Southeast Asias largest economy has claimed that it already has the COVID-19 cases under control， with its Health Ministry saying it recorded 182 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths during the past 24 hours.

First TCM Herb Train from Vietnam Arrives in China

A train loaded with herbs from Dong Dang in northern Vietnam arrived in south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 8， marking further cooperation in thetraditional Chinese medicine （TCM） industry between China and the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations （ASEAN）.524AF094-C47C-4EAF-BFBC-7AC68EA36BF7

The ASEAN is a significant market of TCM products. Cardamom from Indonesia， Caulis Spatholobi from Vietnam， and Scaphiumscaphigerum from Thailand are well-received herbs among Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises. China exports TCM products such as extracts， healthcare foods， and herbal medicines to ASEAN countries.

Customs data showed that Guangxi imported over 6，809 tons of TCM herbs from ASEAN countries in 2021， an increase of 329 percent from a year ago.

World Bank to Provide Laos with 395 mln USD Funding Support

The World Bank expects to support 11 projects in Laos at a cost of about US$395 million from 2022 to 2026， the Vientiane Times said on May 5.

A report on funding was presented on May 3， when the World Bank Groups CountryDirector for Myanmar， Cambodia and Laos， Mariam Sherman， began her first visit toLaos， meeting Lao Minister of Planning and Investment KhamjaneVongphosy. “Thank you to the World Bank for its continuing support and assistance， especially for the implementation of the socio-economic development plans which are linked to the strategic cooperation plan formulated between the government and the World Bankfor 2017-2021， with the plan to continue for 2022-2026，” Khamjane said.

VOICES

“In response to the fast-changing global economic landscape in the post-pandemic era， ASEAN and China are moving towards a new forward-looking partnership.”

—ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi said on the 70th anniversary of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）

“I strongly hope that the outcome of this meeting will include a strong policy stance regarding the recovery of the regional economy after the COVID-19 pandemic， from where we should emerge stronger than ever in order to cope with future crises.”

—Thailands Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister JurinLaksanavisit said while addressing the APEC MinistersResponsible for Trade Meeting on May 21 and 22

“China is playing a leading role： the vast majority of the worlds electrolysers are made in China， and China is rolling out more renewable energy than any other country， including more hydro.”

—Malcolm Turnbull， chair of the Green Hydrogen Organization and former Australian Prime Minister， said at the first-ever Green Hydrogen Global Assembly and Exhibition on May 18， where China was hailed as“a green hydrogen powerhouse” for its strides indeveloping clean hydrogen

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The share of Chinese yuan in the International Monetary Funds （IMF）Special Drawing Rights （SDR） baskethas risen from 10.92 percent to 12.28percent， Chinas central bank saidon its official website on May 15. TheSDR is an international reserve assetsupplementing membersofficialreserves， which can be exchangedamong governments for freely usablecurrencies. In 2016， the IMF includedthe yuan in its SDR basket as a fifthcurrency， along with the U.S. dollar， the euro， the Japanese yen and the British pound. At present， Chinese yuan ranks third in terms of the weight in the SDR basket， after the U.S. dollar and theeuro.

The Chinese Embassy inZimbabwe and United NationsInternational Childrens Emergency Fund （UNICEF） Harare Officesigned a project completioncertificate on May 6 for the Chinese government-established South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund （SSCAF） which sought to improvehealth delivery to pregnant womenand newborn babies. Cumulatively， 1，741，251 people were reached， with 447，138 children under five receiving growth monitoring. A total of216，722 women and children werereached with integrated maternal，neonatal， child health and nutrition services at outreach points.

57.8%

The gross enrollment rate of Chinas higher educationhit 57.8 percent in 2021，compared with 30 percentin 2012， said the Ministryof Education on May 17.Over 44.3 million studentsare studying at highereducation institutions across the country， the ministrytold a press conference，adding that China now hasthe worlds largest highereducation system. A totalof 240 million people inChina have received highereducation so far， accordingto the ministry.

ASEAN MEDIA

VNA May 24， 2022

Hanoi Strengthens Consumption StimulusProgrammes

Hanoi plans to strengthen promotion programmes tostimulate consumption， thereby supporting businesses and enhancing economic growth.

Hanoi is implementing a series of promotionalprogrammes for 2022， focusing on May， July and November at more than 2，000 sales points ofbusinesses.

Notably， the businesses have registered more than10，000 promotion programmes with the Department of Industry and Trade in May， worth nearly 20 trillion VND. “The most important stimulus solution is to ensure thequality of goods and increase incentives for customers， and at the same time， the enterprises must enhancethe production of high-quality goods，”Tran Thi PhuongLan， acting director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade.524AF094-C47C-4EAF-BFBC-7AC68EA36BF7

TheJakartaPost May 23， 2022

Huawei Pivots to Asia-Pacific with Greater Investment in Talent， Cloud Technologyl

Huawei has pledged to increase its commitments in theAsia-Pacific as executives of the Chinese telecommunication giant expressed optimism about the companys prospectsin the region.

In the companys first post-pandemic major tech event，which took place last week with hundreds of seniorgovernment officials， experts， researchers and businesspartners gathered， Huaweis leadership touted its next plan for the region in building digital infrastructure， promotingdigital inclusion and low-carbon development.

Data from Huawei showed that the company has provided connectivity for more than 90 million households and 1billion mobile phone users in the Asia-Pacific. Huaweiscloud computing market share ranks number four in theemerging Asia-Pacific market.

BangkokPost May 25， 2022

Airports on Alert for Monkeypox Symptoms

The Public Health Ministry has issued alerts instructingall international airports to step up their screening ofarrivals， especially from 17 countries where monkeypoxcases have now been confirmed， according to its deputy minister， SathitPitutecha.

“Each airport has a disease control unit and officials will intensify measures against monkeypox by being morevigilant，” he said.

Skin disease and sexually transmitted disease clinicswill be asked to watch out for monkeypox as MrSathit urged the public to keep abreast of the situation fromthe Department of Disease Control （DDC）.

The ministry has not declared monkeypox a dangerous communicable disease yet and no domestic caseshave been reported. However， it will meet to assess the risk of infection， he said， adding the ministry has notconsidered a vaccination programme.

TheStrait Times May 25， 2022

Singapores Services Exports to Continue Growth in 2022

The Republics services exports are expected to continue expanding this year amid the easing of border restrictions and higher global demand in line with post-pandemicrecovery.

Services exports took a longer time to recover to pre- COVID-19 levels， compared with recovery following the SARS pandemic of 2003 and the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009.

Exports of services grew 7.1 percent year on year in thefirst quarter， due to the increase in other business services exports， travel receipts， as well as receipts from thecharges for the use of intellectual property， trade agencyEnterprise Singapore noted in a release on May 25.Overall， services exports rebounded in 2021， recording a 6.7 percent increase after shrinking 1.6 percent in 2020 withthe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.524AF094-C47C-4EAF-BFBC-7AC68EA36BF7