NEWS in brief

CHINESE MEDIA

World Internet Conference inaugural ceremony held in Beijing

An inaugural ceremony for the World Internet Conference,an international organization headquartered in Beijing,was held in Beijing on July 12.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the World Internet Conference for the inauguration of the international organization,which was read out at the event by Huang Kunming,a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The establishment of the organization follows the informatization trend of the times,and it has responded to the wide call of the international community for dialogue,consultation and cooperation in cyberspace,Huang said at the inaugural ceremony.

Huang expressed the hope that all parties will step up dialogue and exchanges,deepen practical cooperation,and jointly build a cyberspace that is fairer and more equitable,open,inclusive,secure,stable and vibrant to allow the internet to better benefit people all over the world.

Members of the World Internet Conference include internet-related international organizations,enterprises,institutions,experts and scholars.

New container line links east Chinese city,Ho Chi Minh City

China’s Jiangsu Port Grouplaunched a container line to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on July 13.

The new route begins at Nanjing,the capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province,and stops at Taicang City and Vietnam’s Haiphong before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City.

The new line was launched to meet the rising trade demand between Nanjing and its surrounding cities and Southeast Asia after the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership came into effect.

Operated weekly,a one-way trip on the route takes about seven days.The group said the new service would help solve the problem of insufficient space for direct trade from Nanjing to Vietnam,Thailand,and other Southeast Asian countries.

More China-aided anti-epidemic supplies handed over to Laos

A new batch of China-aided medical supplies for COVID-19 prevention and controlwere handed over to Laos on the afternoon of July 18.

The anti-epidemic supplies were handed over by Chinese Ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong to Lao Health Minister Bounfeng Phoummalaysith in the Lao capital Vientiane.

In order to strengthen the China-Laos anti-pandemic cooperation and enhance Laos’ ability to fight the virus,the Chinese side decided to provide the assistance worth 13.54 million yuan (US$2.01 million),an official with the Chinese embassy in Laos said on July 19.

The donated supplies include two mobile laboratories,one medical vehicle and other medical materials.

Dance training program helps boost China-Laos cultural exchange

A Chinese dance training programin Laos has worked to boost cultural exchange between China and the Southeast Asian country,most recently providing more than one month of intensive training courses for 35 Lao dancers.

The Chinese dance training class 2022 ran from June 1 to July 8 at the Lao National School of Performing Arts based in capital Vientiane.It was jointly launched by the China Cultural Center in Laos,culture and tourism department of China’s northeastern Liaoning Province,and the Lao National School of Performing Arts.

The trainees included students from the National University of Laos and professional dancers from the Lao National Art Troupe.

Chinese embassy-funded school building inaugurated in SW Cambodia

A school building,funded by the Chinese embassy to Cambodia through the Mudhita Foundation,was inaugurated at the Samdech Ta Primary School in southwestern Cambodia’s Kampot town on July 23.

Cambodian Princess Norodom Arunrasmy,founder of the Mudhita Foundation,took part in the inauguration ceremony of the four-classroom concrete building with a tiled roof in the Kampong Kandal commune of Kampot town.

Dubbed the “King Father-Queen Mother School Building”,the nine-meter-by-32-meter school building is benefiting some 300 students.

Arunrasmy,who is also a privy councilor for the Supreme Privy Council to King Norodom Sihamoni,said that with the support from the Chinese embassy to Cambodia,the Mudhita Foundation has helped build several school buildings and libraries in Cambodia.

VOICES

“Participants agreed that multiculturalism remains the best way to resolve global challenges and there is an urgent need to strengthen multiculturalism.”

—Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudisaid at a press conference after the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 8

“China is a reliable cooperative partner of the United Nations and developing countries in the field of food security.China supports the WFP in setting up a global humanitarian emergency warehouse and hub in China,established the South-South Cooperation Trust Fund with the FAO and provided financial support for it.”

—Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yisaid when addressing the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 8

“At the country level,individual ASEAN+3 economies will reap different benefits,and in different ways.RCEP tariff reductions,for example,will mainly benefit the Plus 3 economies (China,Japan and South Korea).”

—Hoe Ee Khor,chief economist of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO),told Xinhua in an e-mail

16%

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on July 4 that the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC)has achieved fruitful results in promoting regional stability and prosperity.China provided over200 milliondoses of COVID-19 vaccines and dispatched medical expert teams to the Mekong countries,and helped train some 1,300 Traditional Chinese Medicine personnel for the Mekong countries.Since the operation of the China-Laos Railway in early December last year,nearly800,000 tonsof freight have been transported cross-border,covering more than 100 kinds of goods.In 2021,trade between China and the Mekong countries reachedUS$398 billion,up23 percentyear on year.In the first five months of this year,trade between the two sides witnessed a16-percentgrowth.

200million yuan

Two Chinese law-enforcement vessels returned to a port in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on July 22,concluding the 119th joint Mekong River patrol by China,Laos,Myanmar and Thailand.Four vessels from the four countries,with84 law-enforcementofficers on board,sailed over580 kmfor four days and three nights with missions to ensure the safety and stability of the river basin.Since the joint patrols,law enforcement authorities of the four countries have helped more than130 vesselsout of danger,saving direct economic losses worth nearly200 million yuan(about US$30 million).During the past three years,29 law enforcement operations have been carried out,with 8,341 crossborder criminal cases cracked,over47 tonnesof various drugs seized,and4,432suspects arrested.

19.3%

The China-Vietnam freight train service operated 173 trips in the first half of 2022,up19.3 percentyear on year,according to China Railway Nanning Group Co.,Ltd.Over the period,5,196 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers were transported by the freight trains,marking a year-onyear rise of26.3 percent.The China-Vietnam freight train goods collection and distribution sites cover more than 20 cities in and outside of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,with over240 typesof commodities transported,according to the China Railway Nanning Group.Statistics show that in the first half of 2022,some38,000 tonnesof fruit were transported through the Pingxiang port by freight trains,up 164.95 percent year on year.

ASEAN MEDIA

The StarJuly 28,2022

Malaysia’s women graduates close gender jobless gap amid pandemic

Malaysia’s female graduates have narrowed the unemployment rate gap with men for a third straight year,yet major differences remain for jobs requiring higher level degrees.

The jobless rate for 2.476 million women graduates declined to 4.3 percent in 2021,versus 4 percent for men.That’s a huge improvement from 2018,when female employment was a full percentage point lower than males.

Still,much of the shrinkage has been based on lower level diploma jobs,according to data released by the Department of Statistics.

Malaysia’s overall unemployment rate dipped to 3.9 percent in May,according to the latest figures,thanks to an increase in economic activity after reopening of international borders in April.The rate has fallen below 4 percent for the first time since the pandemic struck in early 2020,and is comparable to 3.8 percent in the UK and 3.5 percent in Australia.

VNAJuly 21,2022

Farmers,businesses trained for forming durian growing areas,packaging facilities for exports to China

The Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have coorganised a training course for the establishment of durian growing areas and packaging facilities in the Central Highlands serving exports to China.

China is still the largest importer of Vietnamese durian.After four years of negotiations,on July 11,a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Vietnamese durian exported to the market was signed.

Last year,Vietnam’s durian output was estimated at 600,000 tonnes,up 15 percent year-on-year.

Currently,Vietnam has 123 growing areas and 57 packing establishments registered to participate in the durian export programme targeting the Chinese market.

Bangkok PostJuly 26,2022

New monthly handouts approved

话说孙悟空买了一台iPhone，天天打电话骚扰唐僧。这天又打了，刚放到耳边，突然摔到地上，然后骂道：“师父你缺德，彩铃居然用紧箍咒！”

The cabinet on July 26 approved a new phase of its copayment subsidy scheme and doubled its monthly handout for poor and needy people for September and October.Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said after the cabinet meeting that the fifth phase of the Khon La Khrueng copayment scheme would provide each recipient with 800 baht during the two months period.A recipient could use no more than 150 baht from the handout per day.

Their monthly handout will rise from 200 baht to 400 baht per month during September and October.

The government initiated the co-payment subsidy scheme in October 2020,offering to meet 50 percent of the cost of food,drink and general goods purchases for participants,with the total subsidy limited to 150 baht per person per day.The scheme aims to boost the economy and shore up people’s spending,affected by Covid-19 outbreaks.

The Strait TimesJuly 5,2022

AMRO cuts Singapore economic growth forecasts on war in Ukraine,China slowdownSingapore’s economy will grow less this year than previously estimated and may expand at a much slower pace in 2023,said a report by the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

AMRO blamed the war in Ukraine,China’s struggle with Covid-19 and tighter global financial conditions for the cut in Singapore’s growth outlook.

AMRO said the region—which includes the 10-member ASEAN group plus China,Japan and South Korea—will grow by 4.3 per cent this year,down from its previous forecast of 4.7 percent.