Information

1. Xi meets with Vietnamese PM

June. 28， 2023 （Xinhua）— Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh in Beijing on June 27. Noting that this year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership， Xi said China regards Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and is working to build a community with a shared future with Vietnam. Pham Minh Chinh said that developing long-term， stable， and sound Vietnam-China relations has always been the strategic choice and top priority of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government.

2. Work begins on 2nd Chinese-invested expressway in Cambodia

June. 7， 2023 （Xinhua）— Cambodia on June 7 broke ground on the second Chinese-invested expressway connecting the capital Phnom Penh with Bavet City of Svay Rieng province on the border with Vietnam. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian presided over the ceremony here， which was attended by some 5，000 people. Invested by the China Road and Bridge Corporation in the amount of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars， the 135.1 km expressway project will be developed in the form of BOT （Build-Operate-Transfer） with an operational period of 50 years. The four-lane freeway project is expected to be completed in four years.

3. China， Myanmar sign cooperation agreements to mark 73rd anniversary of diplomatic ties

June. 8， 2023 （Xinhua）— China and Myanmar signed cooperation documents to mark the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on June 8. The signing ceremony was held in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw， with Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and senior Myanmar officials attending. Speaking at the event， Myanmar’s Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Than Swe said that the signing of the documents reflects the outcomes of bilateral cooperation， and the projects will help Myanmar’s economic and social development. Chen said that China is willing to continue to provide assistance within its capacity for the development of Myanmar， and work with Myanmar to promote cooperation in various fields.

4. Marcos vows to strengthen Philippines-China ties

June. 8， 2023 （Xinhua）— Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on June 8 said the relationship between the Philippines and China “has not changed in any fundamental sense，” vowing to exert more efforts to strengthen the ties between the two countries. “We have not shifted away from China in any way，” said Marcos. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the two countries shall further deepen cooperation in various fields， prioritizing the four key areas of agriculture， infrastructure， energy， and people-to-people exchanges. The bilateral relations had been a “boon” to the Philippines’ economic strength over the past years， with China remaining the Southeast Asian country’s top trading partner， said Marcos.

5. China’s Chongqing opens faster import route for Thai durians

June. 11， 2023 （Xinhua） — Southwest China’s Chongqing on June 11 welcomed the first direct cold-chain train of Thai durians that reached the megacity via the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. The 150，000 durians from Thailand were first transported by road to Laos， where they were loaded on a train that traveled into China via the China-Laos Railway. The entire journey took four days， down from 8-10 days on previous sea-road routes， said Deng Haoji， chief operating officer of Hongjiu Fruit， the company that purchased the fruits. The majority of the durians will enter markets in Chongqing， while the rest will continue the train journey to reach the neighboring province of Sichuan.

6. Malaysia’s retail industry sees 13.8 pct growth in Q1

June. 13， 2023 （Xinhua） — Malaysia’s retail industry recorded a better-than-expected growth rate of 13.8 percent in retail sales in the first quarter of 2023， as compared to the same period in 2022， Retail Group Malaysia （RGM） said on June 13. The RGM has also revised Malaysia’s annual retail industry growth rate for 2023 upwards from 4 percent to 4.8 percent due to the retail result during the first quarter of this year. In its report， the RGM said this latest quarterly result was 50 percent higher than the estimate made by members of Malaysia Retailers Association （MRA） and Malaysia Retail Chain Association （MRCA） at 9.2 percent in March.

7. Vietnam’s seafood export target revised down for 2023 over weakening market demand

June. 14， 2023 （Xinhua）— Vietnam’s seafood exports were revised down by 10 percent to 9 billion U.S. dollars for this year due to weakening demand from key markets， Vietnam News reported on June 13. It is highly likely that the seafood industry would fail to reach the official export target of 10 billion dollars for 2023， said Truong Dinh Hoe， general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers （VASEP）. Seafood shipments in the first five months of the year plunged over 28 percent from a year ago to only 3.37 billion dollars， according to the latest data by the General Statistics Office.

8. Forecasters lower Singapore’s 2023 GDP growth to 1.4 pct

June. 14， 2023 （Xinhua） — The Monetary Authority of Singapore （MAS） said in a report on June 14 that economists and analysts polled in the Survey of Professional Forecasters expected the country’s gross domestic product （GDP） to expand by 1.4 percent this year. The number is 0.5 points lower than the 1.9-percent GDP forecast in the previous survey report released by the MAS this March. The surveyed economists also lowered their forecasts of growth in the manufacturing field， finance and insurance sector， and wholesale-retail trade. As for inflation， the respondents forecasted that Singapore’s Consumer Price Index for all items would grow by 5 percent this year， unchanged from the March survey.