China-ASEAN Monitor: ASEAN commodity purchasing centre opens in Chongqing
Photo Credit: Malaysian Reserve
TRADE, ECONOMY, AND INVESTMENT
ASEAN commodity purchasing centre opens in Chongqing
(29 June 2020) An ASEAN commodity purchasing centre opened in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on 28 June. Operated by the ASEAN international logistics park of Chongqing, and with a total investment of US$1.41 million, the 14,000-square-meter purchasing centre aims to become a new platform for the exchange of goods between the western Chinese inland regions and the ASEAN member countries. Customers can buy various products ranging from silver products to seafood at the centre located at the Chongqing Highway Logistics Base. According to an official at the logistics base, the purchasing centre will work with the traditional commercial and e-commerce enterprises at the base to further promote the integration of transportation, logistics, commerce, and industry.
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Chinese expo to act as platform for Cambodian farmers
(29 June 2020) The China International Import Expo (CIIE), scheduled to be held from 5-10 November 2020, can act as a platform for Cambodian farmers to showcase their products, according to the Cambodian Rural Development Agency. The third CIIE opened registration on 24 June. Professional visitors, including buyers, industry insiders and experts from enterprises, social organisations, public institutions and government organs, can register on its official website. On 16 June, China and Cambodia initiated a “fast track” for the transfer of people and a “green corridor” for the flow of goods between the two countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Myanmar negotiates with China for soybean export
(29 June 2020) China, through the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), has sent questions related to food safety and import procedures to Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, in order to import Myanmar’s soybeans through a legitimate channel. China imports around 90 million tonnes of soybeans annually but following the trade war with the US, China has reduced importation of soybean from the US and turned to Asian markets. Myanmar farmers from the northern Shan State have started to cultivate soybeans of American origin on a trial basis. If the legal channel materialises, the growers in Shan State will see an increase in income. The related ministries in Myanmar are endeavouring to export soybeans to a larger market like China, coordinating closely with GACC, according to a statement released online by the Commerce Ministry.
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Hong Kong welcomes Thailand’s relaxation of inbound passenger control
(29 June 2020) The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government welcomed Thailand’s decision to set up a special travel arrangement for cross-border control with five economies including Hong Kong as a first step in relaxing its inbound passenger control. Thailand’s special arrangement was announced by Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs Kobsak Pootrakool at a webinar organised by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong government and the Thailand Board of Investment on 29 June. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the HKSAR government Edward Yau said if cross-boundary business exchange can be gradually resumed for Hong Kong, it would give a tremendous boost to its economic recovery.
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Vietnam’s Dong Nai prepares to welcome FDI moving out of China
(26 June 2020) Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai plans to build industrial parks and expand existing ones to be ready for the shift in foreign direct investment flows from China to Vietnam because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit that country hard. According to Vietnam’s Statistics Office, in the first five months of 2020, Dong Nai attracted a total of US$612 million in FDI. Deputy general director of the Dau Giay Industrial Zone Joint Stock Company Nguyen Thị Cam Hong said South Korean and Japanese investors came to survey the industrial zone in May 2020. To welcome new FDI inflows, Dong Nai plans to build industrial parks at Long Thanh, Cam My, Thong Nhat, Trang Bom, and Nhơn Trạch districts and Long Khanh Town, each between 200ha and 900ha in size. So far, 1,700 companies have invested in Dong Nai, including over 1,200 foreign firms from 43 countries and territories, and have brought in US$24 billion.
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