Information

01. Malaysia， Brunei hold discussion on bilateral cooperation

Mar. 5， 2019 （Xinhua） — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah held a high-level meeting for further cooperation on bilateral issues. The discussions are in conjunction with the 22nd Malaysia-Negara Brunei Darussalam Annual Leaders Consultation， the highest platform for discussion between the two countries. Mahathir and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah reaffirmed mutual defense ties between the two countries， pledging to continue regular exchanges of visits， official level engagements， training courses and military exercises.

02. Biggest Chinese investment project in Brunei to be operational

Mar. 1， 2019 （Xinhua） — The first phase of Hengyi Industries' oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Brunei's Pulau Muara Besar （PMB） will be put into operation by the end of this year. The US$ 3.4 billion refinery was 78% complete and is expected to contribute US$ 1.33 billion to Brunei's GDP in the first year. Hengyi's investment into PMB is the largest foreign direct investment into Brunei from China in recent years， Hengyi plans to move forward with the second phase of the project by 2022， worth another US$ 10 billion in investment.

03. South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair launches in Beijing

Mar. 3， 2019 （China Daily） — The launch event for the 2019 South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair （SSACEIF） and the second China-South Asia Cooperation Forum was held in Beijing. SSACEIF， themed "gathering on the frontier of opening-up， jointly building a radiation center and sharing prosperity and development"， will be held on June 12-18 in Kunming， capital of Yunnan Province. It will feature 17 pavilions covering an area of approximately 170，000 square meters and offering a range of activities and content.

04. Ministers vow to conclude talks on Asia-Pacific trade pact in 2019

Mar. 5， 2019 （China Daily） — Trade ministers from China and 15 other nations belonging to the RCEP group have agreed to resolve issues with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement by the end of this year. The ministers made the commitment in a brief statement at the end of their ministerial meeting in Siem Reap， Cambodia. The ministers acknowledged the good progress already made on both market access and text-based negotiations but recognized more work still needed to be done to "advance both aspects of the negotiations".

05. Myanmar， Thailand border trade hit US$ 1.4 billion

Mar. 9， 2019 （Xinhua） — Border trade between Myanmar and Thailand totaled about US$ 1.4 billion in the first half of fiscal year （FY） 2018-2019 which started in October last year. Myanmar exports agricultural and fishery products to neighbouring Thailand and imports cosmetics， food products， machinery and raw industrial goods. The country's export to neighbouring Thailand reached US$ 985.8 million while its import shared US$ 412.9 million. The total trade between Myanmar and foreign countries reached over US$ 14.18 billion during the first half of FY 2018-2019.

06. Preparations underway for the second China International Import Expo

Mar. 12， 2019 （China Daily） — The second China International Import Expo （CIIE）， scheduled during November 5-10 in Shanghai. More than 500 companies from over 40 countries and regions have signed agreements to attend this year's expo， which will cover a total area of 300，000 square meters — 30，000 square meters larger than the inaugural event. Promotions in the regions of Hong Kong and Macao in February aimed to build on the expo's successes last year， with 148 Hong Kong （China） and 54 Macao （China） businesses reaching trade volumes of US$ 1.7 billion and US$ 25.5 million， respectively， in 2018.

07. Freight train departs Chongqing for ASEAN countries

Mar. 14， 2019 （Xinhua） — Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality launched a new freight train to better serve transportation along the land-sea trade corridor. The train left Guoyuan Port， the largest port on the upper reaches of the Yangtze and a key point connecting the Yangtze River economic belt and Belt and Road regions. Cargo from Chengdu and Chongqing， will eventually be transported by sea to Saigon and Haiphong in Vietnam， and Jakarta， the capital of Indonesia. The total shipping time to southeast Asian countries will shorten to less than 10 days from 22 days via the Yangtze River waterway.

08. China-ASEAN Expo to be held in late September

Mar. 14， 2019 （China Daily） — The 16th China-ASEAN Expo （CAEXPO） is slated to be held in Nanning， Guangxi during September 20-23. Indonesia is this year's country of honor. Launched in 2004， the expo is an important platform for promoting trade and friendly relations between China and ASEAN. China-ASEAN trade maintained strong upward momentum last year， with the total value of bilateral trade rising by 14.1%， to a record-breaking US$ 587.87 billion. Total investment between the two amounted to US$ 205.71 billion， a 22-fold increase from 2004.