China sets development targets till 2020

Beijing (VNA) – The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has set a target to double the per-capita disposable income of rural residents by 2020 from the 2008 level.

The goal was part of the decision made at the close of the third plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, which focused on issues concerning rural reform and development.

The Chinese government would also boost consumption of rural residents by a big margin and basically eliminate absolute poverty in rural areas by 2020, according to a communique issued on the four-day plenum’s conclusion on October 12.

Per-capita disposable income was recorded at 4,140 yuan (605.6 USD) in rural areas in 2007, a year-on-year gain of 9.5 percent in real terms.

Targets set at the plenum for rural reform and development till 2020 also included “improving the system of economic growth in the countryside and establishing a mechanism to integrate urban and rural areas in terms of economic growth and social development.”

The modernisation of agriculture will advance with major progress, and agricultural productivity will be elevated to a higher level, with national grain security and product supplies guaranteed, said the communique.

The plenum analysed the country’s economic situation, saying that the general situation in China was good, the economy had kept a relatively fast growth, the financial sector had been stable, and the basic trend of the country’s economic development had not changed.

However, the plenum held that the turbulence of the international financial market had intensified, and the global economic growth had slowed down. The number of uncertain and unstable factors in the international economic environment had increased, while the domestic economic operation also suffered from some contradictions and problems.

“Therefore, we had to be mindful of potential dangers, and be prepared to take challenges,” the communique said.

A total of 202 full members and 166 alternate members of the Committee attended the plenum, according to Xinhua news agency.-

Six-party talks likely to resume by end of month

Seoul (VNA) – The six-party talks addressing the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula may be resumed in Beijing (China) by the end of this month, local media reported.

The concerned parties will schedule a new round of talks “considering the schedules for the Beijing summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting on October 24-25 and the US presidential election on November 4”, Yonhap news agency quoted the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young as saying on October 13.

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources claimed that talks, involving the US, the RoK, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, Japan and Russia, will likely reopen shortly before or after the ASEM summit to approve the recent deal brokered by Washington and Pyongyang.

On the same day, Seoul said it would expand its cooperation with the DPRK after the US decided to remove the DPRK from its terrorism list on October 12, according to Yonhap. –

Asia’s biggest electronics fair held in Hong Kong

Hanoi (VNA) – The Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) 2008 opened in Hong Kong (China) on October 13 at two venues – the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre.

More than 2,600 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions, occupying over 3,800 booths, display their latest products and technologies at the event which is organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Xinhua news agency said.

In addition to returning group pavilions from China and the Republic of Korea, new exhibitors including those from Canada, the Czech Republic, France and the United Arab Emirates will present their products at the show, which will last until October 16.

A concurrent event is the 12 th Electronic Asia, the region’s leading trade event for all kinds of components, assemblies, electronic production and display technologies, and which also includes the special World of Display Technology themed zone, the news agency reported.

The Electronic Asia 2008 features over 560 exhibitors and 700 booths from 17 countries and regions and is a valuable accompaniment to the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition). –

Thailand, Cambodia to resume border talks

Hanoi (VNA) – Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to resume border talks between October 21-24 in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, according to news reports.

The decision was made after a meeting between the Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Thai counterpart Sompong Amornvivat in Phnom Penh on October 13, which aimed to come to an agreement over the border dispute between the two countries.

The planned talks will discuss the redeployment of the remaining troops at the disputed border area between the two countries, news reports quoted a press release from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as saying.

In addition, the two countries’ Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) will convene on November 3 – 7 in Cambodia in order to speed up the survey and demarcation work in accordance with bilaterally recognised documents and MoU.

Both foreign ministers will meet again on November 19-20 in Thailand to push for final settlement of the ongoing border problems. –

Lao-Thai trade volume increases by 47 percent

Vientiane (VNA) – Trade volume between Laos and Thailand reached more than 1.6 billion USD during the first eight months of the year, an increase of almost 47 percent over the previous period.

Exports from Laos to Thailand stood at 420 million USD, a year-on-year rise of 55.2 percent.

Key export items from Laos include minerals and agricultural and forestry products, while imports from its neighbour include garments and textiles, drinks, plastics, cement, and steel, which were valued at 1.2 billion USD, an increase of 44.2 percent.

The increase in trade between the two countries has been attributed to Laos’ economic growth (7.8-8 percent), the stable performance of Laos’ currency (kip) against the Thai baht, and the opening of highway R3, which links the two Lao provinces of Luong Namtha and Bo Keo with the Thai capital of Bangkok. –

Malaysia, India to sign MoU on worker movement

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia and India will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the exchange of workers between the two countries in New Delhi in December.

The MOU is to outline the recruitment of workers pertaining to the role of agents, working conditions, and the need to follow the laws of the respective countries, Malaysia’s Bernama news agency quoted Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam as saying on October 13.

The MoU would also allow the setting up of a joint committee by both countries to deal with the movements of workers, he told reporters following a meeting with India ’s Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi.

Minister Subramaniam added that Malaysia would also place its labour attaché in Chennai (India) to help facilitate the movements of workers between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Vayalar said that India has stringent laws to ensure that unregistered workers or agents could be subjected to mandatory imprisonment.

There are now approximately 138,000 Indian nationals working in various sectors in Malaysia, mainly in services, agriculture, manufacturing and plantations, according to Bernama. –

Cambodian PM asks Thailand to withdraw troops

Hanoi (VNA) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked Thailand to withdraw its troops from the two countries’ disputed border area within 24 hours.

The PM told reporters in Phnom Penh on October 13 he had warned Thailand’s visiting Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat that without a quick pullout, Thai soldiers could be fired in “large-scale armed conflict,” news reports said.

Cambodia tries to be patient, he said, warning that the disputed area is a “life-and-death battle zone”.

He also noted that he would meet his Thai counterpart as soon as possible to seek ways to address the border dispute. The Cambodian PM’s statement came after the meeting on border issue between the two countries’ foreign ministers ended the same day without any progress.

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia first flared in July after the Preah Vihear temple was awarded World Heritage status by the World Heritage Committee. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, but the surrounding land remains in dispute.–

ASEAN officials discuss rural development

Hanoi (VNA) – The 6th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication kicked off in Singapore on October 13.

The two-day meeting will be reviewing the work that 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have undertaken in these areas, including an ASEAN Roadmap for Implementation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to news agencies.

The meeting will also be endorsing the relevant sections of the draft ASEAN Socio-Cultural Blueprint, a major contribution towards the establishment of an ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Singapore’s Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sport Yu-Foo Yee Shoon said that ASEAN has made strong progress in reducing extreme poverty and hunger and although there are still considerable differences across some member countries, all ten member countries remain committed to achieving the United Nations MDGs.

According to the minister, the regional bloc has taken concrete steps to narrow the development gaps that exist between member countries, including initiatives such as the Vientiane Action Plan and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration.

During the meeting, senior officials from 10 member nations will also engage delegates from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea at the first “plus 3” meeting to seek collaboration and exchange experiences on rural development and poverty eradication.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.-

Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia to act on rubber prices

Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia – the world’s top three rubber producers – will meet in December to coordinate efforts to boost falling prices.

Officials at the three-nation talks would discuss issues related to stockpiling and supply of rubber into the market amid a looming global slowdown, Malaysian Plantations Minister Peter Chin was quoted by news reports as saying on the sidelines of an international rubber conference.

“We have yet to see the full impact of the global financial crisis, but Malaysia is not insulated from all these factors,” he said, adding that Malaysia will have talks with Indonesia and Thailand for proper stock management, supply management and export tonnage.

The three Southeast Asian countries produce some 80 percent of the world’s natural rubber output.-

Solid waste treatment plant planned for Da Nang

Da Nang (VNA) – The Saigon Energy and Environment Technology Joint Stock Company (Saigonentec) has been issued a permit by the central city of Da Nang to build a solid waste treatment plant.

Covering 1.5 ha in the city’s Khanh Son rubbish dump, the facility will have investment capital totaling 100 billion VND (more than 6 million USD).

It will be capable of processing 600 tonnes of nylon bags, plastic products and rubber tires a day to produce industrial oil, plastic granules and industrial coal.

Saigonentec is also permitted to treat medical and industrial waste discharged from hospitals and factories in the city.

The city of Da Nang is committed to realising its plan to become an environmentally-friendly city in the near future.-