News in Brief

CHINESE MEDIA

China Sends Clear-cut Signals to Bolster Economic Growth

The State Council meeting held on March 16 urged concrete actions to bolster the economy in the first quarter, noting that monetary policy should take the initiative to cope with the situation, and new loans should maintain an appropriate growth.

In terms of fostering the real economy, the central bank stressed supporting micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises. To allay market worries in Chinese shares listed overseas, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said the country will promptly promote the implementation of new regulations on the supervision of overseas listing of enterprises and support all kinds of qualified enterprises to list overseas.

Given that the economy faces rising pressure from imported inflation caused by price hikes in global commodities, a new wave of COVID infections in China, and growing external uncertainties from regional conflicts, analysts say the policy statement came at the right time to lift market expectations.

“The meeting sent a signal that the central government attaches great importance to steady and healthy economic development, indicating that steady growth remains the current policy priority,” said Zhou Maohua, an analyst with the China Everbright Bank.

CHINESE MEDIA

Cambodiainauguratedthe China-funded expanded National Road No. 3 which links the capital Phnom Penh and the southwestern coastal province of Kampot on March 2.The 134.8-km expanded road starting from Chom Chao roundabout in Phnom Penh’s western suburb runs through Kandal, Kampong Speu and Takeo provinces.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian both addressed the inauguration ceremony.

The road was built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) at a cost of about US$215 million, and the project, which began in October 2018, was funded by the Chinese government.

Progresstowards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Asia-Pacific region is far behind schedule owing to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and human-made crises, said a UN report released on March 17.

According to the report, the region is expected to achieve the SDGs by 2065, 35 years behind its original plan.

In Southeast Asia, a certain degree of advancement has been made towards eradication of poverty (Goal 1), industry, innovation and infrastructure (Goal 9), and life on land (Goal 15). However, it is regressing on five goals, including climate action (Goal 13) and responsible consumption and production (Goal 12), both adversely impacted by increased greenhouse gas emissions.

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA)has granted the emergency use authorization for China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for children, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said on March 14.

Duque said the government would soon administer the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, or the inactivated CoronaVac vaccine, to children aged six and above.

CoronaVac is the second COVID-19 vaccine allowed to be administered to children in the Philippines. The FDA earlier granted emergency use of Pfizer vaccine for children.The Sinovac vaccine is also the first vaccine delivered in Manila as China donated the first batch on February 28 last year, allowing the country to kick off its vaccination drive the very next day.

Thailand,the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2022, announced on March 3 that the annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held on November 18-19 in Bangkok. The theme for APEC 2022 is “Open, Connect, Balance.”

“We must embrace inclusiveness and sustainability in our growth strategy, balancing between health, economy and the environment,” said Thani Thongphakdi, permanent secretary for foreign affairs of Thailand and APEC 2022 Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) chair.

The announcement was made after the conclusion of the first APEC SOM in February, where participants from member economies reiterated their commitment to reinvigorating regional economic integration, reconnecting the region and reassuring sustainability for future growth.

VOICES

“Over the past three decades, China and ASEAN have embraced the trend of the times, enjoyed geographic proximity and shared cultural affinity, found a broad path of good-neighborliness and win-win cooperation, and established a model of most vibrant and promising regional cooperation. The China-ASEAN relations have no limits and are sure to grow even closer.”

—Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yisaid on March 7 when he met the press on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 13th National People’s Congress

“My greatest fear is that the conflict continues – then we will have a situation of significant levels of food price rises, in poor countries that were already in an extremely weak financial situation owing to COVID-19.”

—The chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Maximo Torero,warned of the possible heavy toll of the Ukraine conflict on world food security on March 16

“We still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture and male-dominated power structures…. All of the challenges facing our world today—from an unequal recovery from COVID-19, to climate change, to intergenerational inequality, poverty and violence, to the tragic lack of peace in our world—are largely the result of a deeply rooted patriarchy.”

—UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterressaid in his opening remarks to the Group of Friends on Gender Parity on March 15

22%

China’s economic hub Shanghai saw its foreign trade expand22 percentto a total of674.5 billion yuan (US$106 billion)in the first two months of 2022, according to data from customs authorities. The European Union, ASEAN and the United States were among the largest trading partners of Shanghai from January to February. Notably, the city registered surging exports of automobiles and mobile phones in the first two months of this year, increasing by242 percentand289 percentyear-on-year, respectively.

120,000km

In 2021, roads with a total length of over120,000 kmopened to traffic in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, local authorities said on March 17. In Tibet, five townships and67 administrative villagesgained access to hard roads in 2021. This made hard roads reach to94.55 percentof the region’s total townships and77.94 percentof the total administrative villages by the end of the year. Tibet completed investment worth20.1 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion)in fixed assets for road transport. The regional transport department aims to complete investment in transport worth over21.6 billion yuan (US$3.4 billion)in 2022.

5.5%

In the government work report delivered at the opening of the fifth session of the 13th National People’s Congress on March 5, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China will focus on stabilizing its economic fundamentals this year, setting its GDP growth target at around5.5 percent. China will strive to create at least 11 million jobs in the urban areas and maintain surveyed urban unemployment rate at below5.5 percent. The government has set the deficitto-GDP ratio for 2022 at around2.8 percentin a move to boost fiscal sustainability.

ASEAN MEDIA

VNAMarch 17, 2022

Vietnam Assumes Chair of ASEAN Education Channel

The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training took over the chairmanship of ASEAN Education for 2022 – 2023 from the Philippines at a ceremony on March 16.In his speech, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son noted that the health crisis has negatively affected the education sector but ASEAN member states have strived to overcome unprecedented “shocks” to

minimize negative impacts of the pandemic.He called on ASEAN member nations to join hands in resuming education activities and better the ASEAN education system’s resilience in the new context. This is a transition period that requires learners, schools, and parents to be ready to adapt to any form of learning, including both face-to-face and virtual learning, Son stressed, adding that an urgent priority now is to develop a more resilient education system that can withstand and recover from future crises.

The ScoopMarch 2, 2022

Brunei to Ramp up Hydrocarbon Output after New Oil Discovery

Brunei plans to ramp up production in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors after discovering 42 million barrels of oil equivalent at an undisclosed location last year.

Energy Minister YB Dato Hj Mat Suny Hj Md Hussein said that drilling will begin on several exploration wells this year. Speaking at the Legislative Council on March 2, he said the government is targeting an output of 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the upstream sector. The energy ministry tabled a US$240.8 million budget for the 2022/23 fiscal year, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

He added that the government will prioritize the development of downstream projects in the near future, aiming to position Brunei as a leading downstream hub for markets in Asia-Pacific.

Bangkok PostMarch 12, 2022

Thailand Tops 5G Smartphone Market

Thailand recorded the largest 5G-enabled smartphone shipments in ASEAN last year, buoyed by broader availability of 5G handsets, pent-up demand and Covid-19 government subsidies, says IT market research company IDC.

“5G-enabled smartphones contributed more than one-third of the total market in Thailand in the last quarter and full year of 2021 thanks to Apple’s iPhones and affordable Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy A52s, Vivo Y76 and Redmi Note 10,” said Teerit Paowan, client devices market analyst at IDC Thailand.

According to IDC, Thailand’s handset shipments reached 20.9 million units in 2021, up 20.9 percent from a year earlier, the biggest growth among ASEAN countries.

In the fourth quarter last year, Samsung remained in the top position for Thailand in terms of shipments, followed by Xiaomi, which climbed two spots, supported by the expansion of its offline channel.

The StarMarch 16, 2022

Most SMEs Want to Expand Overseas

A majority of Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seeking opportunities in international trade within South-East Asia and East Asian markets, according to a joint survey by FedEx Express and the SME Association. More than half (58 percent) of the respondents indicated

that they are looking at expanding their business presence, while the remaining respondents (42 percent) remained cautious. SME Association president said Malaysian SMEs are shifting their focus to markets within the Asia-Pacific region, with intra-Asia trade burgeoning because of rising eCommerce transactions.

Conducted at the end of 2021, the survey, titled Levelling Up the Logistics Strategy for SMEs in Malaysia, saw participation from 383 local SMEs, with the majority recording up to RM10 million in turnover in 2021. Over 70 percent of the companies registered an average of 200 shipments per month last year through eCommerce activities.

Members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CCPCC) National Committee exit the Great Hall of the People after the closing meeting of the fifth session of the 13th CCPCC National Committee on March 10, 2022. (JIN LIANGKUAI)

Kindergarten children in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province, perform a dragon dance on March 4, 2022, the second day of the second lunar month, to celebrate Dragon Head-raising Day, a traditional festival to pray for good spring weather. (FANG DONGXU)

Night view of the East Lake Cherry Blossom Garden in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, March 14, 2022. (VCG)

Rescuers in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, wade through chest-deep floodwater after heavy rainfall on March 7, 2022. (XINHUA)

Elephants at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya, Thailand, enjoy a fruit banquet as part of the country’s annual National Elephant Day celebrations on March 13, 2022. (WANG TENG)

Fishermen use traditional cone-shaped nets. In a shallow part of Inle Lake in Myanmar, the men steer the boat with an oar controlled with their feet. They thrust the net down into the water so it sinks to the bottom. A spear is then launched into the lake and hooked to the top of the cone to drag it back to the surface with the fish trapped inside. (ALAHATTIN KANLIOGLU)

A worker in Klaten, Central Java, Indonesia, meticulously paints decorative designs by hand onto brightly colored umbrellas. The umbrellas, referred to as juwiring umbrellas, are commonly used as decorative pieces in hotels, offices, and luxury homes as well as in traditional ceremonies. (ANDIKA OKY ARISANDI)