Information

01. Chinese FM attends East Asia Summit foreign ministers meeting

Aug. 5， 2021 （China Daily） — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 4 attended the 11th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting via video link， and called for solidarity and cooperation among summit members to contribute to pandemic response and economic recovery. Wang said that summit members should uphold the spirit of science and jointly promote new measures for anti-pandemic cooperation. China has so far provided more than 750 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries. He said it is imperative to carry out virus origin tracing research in the spirit of science， oppose any political manipulation and truly provide a reference for preventing the next pandemic.

02. China-ASEAN trade skyrockets by 85 times in three decades

Aug. 2， 2021 （Xinhua） — Trade between China and ASEAN has skyrocketed by 85 times since the two sides established their dialogue relations 30 years ago， official data showed. China has remained ASEANs largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years， said Ren Hongbin， Assistant Minister of Commerce. In 2020， ASEAN also became Chinas largest trading partner. In the first half of this year， bilateral trade between China and ASEAN continued robust expansion， registering a 38.2% year-on-year growth.

03. Myanmar pledges to hold vote in 2 years

Aug. 3， 2021 （China Daily） — Myanmars newly formed caretaker government is ready to work with the special envoy of the ASEAN to pave way for general elections before the second half of 2023， according to Myanmars State Administration Council. “Myanmar is ready to work on ASEAN cooperation within the ASEAN framework， including the dialogue with the ASEAN special envoy in Myanmar，” Council Chair Min Aung Hlaing announced in a televised address on August 1. ASEAN is holding a series of ministerial meetings this week and is expected to play a key role in helping to bring stability and normal governance back to Myanmar.

04. BRI partners find a classic path to learning

Aug. 4， 2021 （China Daily） — Guangxi Publishing and Media Group in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has taken advantage of Guangxis proximity to Southeast Asia， and has enjoyed success with copyright arrangements for the sale of titles in countries such as Vietnam， Cambodia， Thailand and Indonesia. As for the reading habits of consumers worldwide， new trends are making the publishing market more competitive than ever before. We have witnessed the shift from printed books to e-books， and， more recently， to audiobooks. The transition reflects a major change in reading habits in the internet era.

05. Huawei to invest US$ 100m in Asia-Pacific startup ecosystem over 3 years

Aug. 4， 2021 （China Daily） — Huawei Technologies Co on August 3 announced its plan to invest US$ 100 million to support startups over the next three years， as the Chinese tech heavyweight aims to help build a sustainable startup ecosystem for the Asia-Pacific region. The plan was unveiled at the inaugural Huawei Cloud Spark Founders Summit， which took place simultaneously in Singapore and Hong Kong. Huawei has been helping Singapore， Hong Kong， Malaysia and Thailand build their startup hubs.

06. Myanmar receives funds from China for projects under LMC Special Fund

Aug. 11， 2021 （Xinhua） — Myanmar received funds from China for 21 projects under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC） Special Fund. An agreement on the transfer of the funds was signed by Myanmars Foreign Affairs Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin and Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai. The projects cover the areas of non-traditional security， human resources， vaccine production for animal diseases， culture， agriculture， natural disaster prevention， science and technology， environmental conservation， forestry， border trade， tourism and finance.

07. Cooperation shining brightly

Aug. 12， 2021 （China Daily） — There is huge potential for greater agricultural cooperation between China and ASEAN. China has advanced agricultural production technology， high-quality products， and an abundant supply of agricultural materials. Within the ASEAN countries， there is great potential demand for what China produces， and their agricultural products also enjoy strong market demand in China. Reflecting this demand， Guangxi in 2020 selected 30 crop varieties in an agricultural and fishery cooperation demonstration zone in Malaysia. Guangxi has also pursued the implementation of 22 projects relating to agricultural opening-up and cooperation pilot zones.

08. Thai tycoon eyes opportunities in digital-yuan trade settlements and payments through fintech firm

Aug. 12， 2021 （China Daily） — China has been developing the digital yuan， or e-CNY， a virtual currency launched by the nation's central bank， with trials undertaken in some cities under a pilot program. China is also exploring ways to use its digital yuan for cross-border transactions. For example， the PBOC has been working with central banks of Thailand and the United Arab Emirates in a multilateral research project since February this year. “RMB will be used for different trade finance in the future， challenging the international currency system long-dominated by the US dollar”， said Chatchaval.