Asia
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended Friday an expo in Harbin, northeastern China, which showcases companies from his and the host country, in a bid to boost bilateral economic ties amid Western sanctions on Moscow imposed in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Putin, who is on a two-day state visit to China, agreed with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday in Beijing to expand trade and investment between the two countries, deepening cooperation in various sectors including energy, artificial intelligence and agriculture. The Russian leader is being accompanied at the expo by ...
Kyodo News
Lawrence Wong was sworn in as Singapore's fourth prime minister on Wednesday, in the city-state's first power transition in two decades, succeeding Lee Hsien Loong. Wong, 51, who 72-year-old Lee designated as his successor in 2022, transitioned from a former bureaucrat and Lee's principal private secretary to leading the education, national development and finance ministries and then becoming deputy prime minister. Lee, the elder son of modern Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, had led the affluent Southeast Asian country since August 2004. He will become a senior minister in Wong's Cab...
Kyodo News
Honda Motor Co. is slashing its full-time production workforce in China amid slumping sales in the market, with some 1,700 employees or over 10 percent of the total staff having applied for voluntary layoffs, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. GAC Honda Automobile Co., a joint venture between Honda and Chinese state-owned automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group, began soliciting for the early exit scheme earlier this month amid an intensifying price war in the world's largest auto market, where electric vehicles account for more than 20 percent of new car sales. The final figure for...
Kyodo News
Japanese restaurants in China have been struggling to stay afloat amid Beijing's total ban on seafood imports from Japan, but some have found a way to keep in business by procuring the neighboring country's marine products via Hong Kong or using Chinese-sourced ingredients for their menu items. The embargo, introduced last August in response to the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, has forced many Japanese restaurants in China to close their doors. The impact of the ban has been particularly severe on high-end establishments in urban areas such as B...
Kyodo News
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday it has begun reviewing membership for Indonesia, the first Southeast Asian country to request to join the intergovernmental body. The OECD said in February that it had opened discussions with Indonesia for its accession to the organization, whose 38 members mostly comprise Western nations. The Japanese government has expressed support for more Asian countries joining the Paris-based body. OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann, in a speech Thursday, said the move came as a result of Indonesia's "remarkable economic reform,...
Kyodo News
Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that it will invest $2.2 billion over the next four years on enhancing Malaysia's cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, and building skills. Touted as the single largest investment by the company in Malaysia, part of the investment will used for the AI training of 200,000 people and enhancing the country's cybersecurity capabilities in cooperation with the government, Microsoft said. "Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian business, communities and developers apply the latest technology to drive inclusive economic gr...
Kyodo News
China's ruling Communist Party will hold a key meeting in July to set its mid- to long-term economic policy, the country's state-run media said Tuesday, as the Asian powerhouse faces challenges, including a prolonged property sector crisis. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee was widely expected to be held in the fall of last year following a twice-a-decade party congress in 2022. However, it was delayed, possibly due to difficulties in coordinating policies to cope with the real estate sector problem and a personnel reshuffle. The upcoming session will "primarily study iss...
Kyodo News
The International Monetary Fund projected on Tuesday that the Asia and Pacific region will grow by 4.5 percent this year, revising upward its October forecast of 4.2 percent, mainly due to strong investment in China and India. China's economy is expected to grow 4.6 percent, up 0.4 percentage point from the previous forecast, the IMF said. It projected India's growth to be 6.8 percent, up 0.5 point. The latest growth outlook for the region was "better than previously projected," Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, told reporters in Singapore, noting it was a ...
Kyodo News
China said it will resume Taiwan-bound travel for residents of Fujian Province in the country's southeast during a meeting on Sunday with the island's opposition lawmakers. Rao Quan, China's vice culture and tourism minister, made the remarks to Nationalist Party legislators when they met ahead of the May 20 inauguration of President-elect Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing views as a separatist. The vice minister said Beijing will first restart the travel of Fujian residents to Matsu, a remote group of Taiwan islands, and then allow group tours to other parts of the self-ruled territory after resumin...
Kyodo News
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi began talks on Friday in Beijing, with agenda items expected to include China's alleged support for Russia's defense industry as well as tensions around Taiwan and the South China Sea. Blinken, who returned to the Asian country for the first time in 10 months, is also likely to raise U.S. concerns about Beijing's overcapacity in electric vehicles and other industries. He may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day. His three-day China visit through Friday is part of the two countries' efforts to stabiliz...
Kyodo News
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