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Daily Express
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Express
Macron arrives in Vietnam for Southeast Asia tour
Published on: Monday, May 26, 2025 Published on: Mon, May 26, 2025 By: AFP Text Size: Emmanuel Macron is hoping to showcase France's expertise in civil nuclear power. (EPA Images pic) HANOI: French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Vietnam today for the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour, where he will pitch his country as a reliable alternative partner to the US and China. During his six-day trip – which includes Indonesia and Singapore – Macron will underscore his respect for the sovereignty of Asian countries 'caught between the US and China', a presidential aide said during a pre-tour briefing. The French president is due to meet Vietnam's top leadership tomorrow in the capital Hanoi and key energy sector players on Tuesday. Macron is hoping to showcase France's expertise in civil nuclear power in Vietnam and Indonesia, which are keen to embrace this form of energy, although other countries including Russia are also in the running for deals. France's willingness 'to engage assertively in Indo-Pacific geopolitics offers Vietnam a useful counterweight to China's growing influence', said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore's Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute. In Indonesia, Macron will hold talks with the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Kao Kim Hourn, on Wednesday. Advertisement Macron's aide said the president is 'defending the idea of international trade rules, we don't want a jungle where the law of the strongest prevails'. The aide added that Macron's message is aimed at both Washington, which is exerting 'extremely strong pressure' via US President Donald Trump's tariffs, and Beijing, which is becoming increasingly aggressive on both trade and territorial disputes, notably in the South China Sea. Before his departure, Macron held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping calling for 'fair competition' between both countries. And in Singapore on Friday, Macron will give the opening speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's largest forum on security and defence. He is expected to press that Russia's war in Ukraine is destabilising Asia by 'making North Korean soldiers fight on European soil against Ukrainians and by supporting North Korea's ballistic and nuclear programmes', the presidential aide said. Macron is also keen to counter the view of a European and western 'double standard' between the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza. 'We fully understand the sensitivities of Muslim communities in the region,' the aide said, adding that Macron is 'particularly committed' to achieving peace in the Middle East. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
Heavy rains kill 5 in China's south, authorities issue disaster alerts
State media CCTV reported continued rainfall in western Xinjiang, particularly along the Tianshan range, from Monday to Tuesday. (EPA Images pic) HONG KONG : Heavy rains in China's southern Guangdong and Guangxi provinces killed five people and left several missing over the weekend as authorities issued alerts for severe rain, mountain flooding and geological disasters in the south of the country. China's National Meteorological Centre issued multiple warnings over the weekend of heavy rains in areas of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong and the northwestern province of Xinjiang from Sunday to Monday, said the official Xinhua news agency. A yellow alert was issued in parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, indicating a relatively high risk of mountain flooding, Xinhua said. China has a four-tier weather warning system with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken. Last year's warmer weather was accompanied by stronger storms and higher rainfall and led to spikes in power consumption in the world's second-largest economy. State broadcaster CCTV said heavy rain was also expected from Monday to Tuesday in areas including the far western region of Xinjiang along the Tianshan Mountains.
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
Record May heat scorches north, central China
The weather office said extreme heat will ease by Friday, with some areas expecting rapid temperature drops of up to 15C. (EPA Images pic) BEIJING : Swathes of northern and central China sweltered this week under record May heat, state media said Tuesday, with temperatures rising well above 40C in several major cities. China has endured spates of extreme weather events, from searing heat and drought to downpours and floods, for several summers running. The country is the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, but also a renewable energy powerhouse seeking to cut carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2060. State broadcaster CCTV said Tuesday that multiple cities logged all-time May highs this week. They included Zhengzhou, a metropolis of 13 million people in central Henan province, which saw a high of 41C on Monday, CCTV said. In nearby Linzhou, temperatures rose to 43.2C, while the small city of Shahe in northern Hebei province logged 42.9C, the national weather office said in a social media post on Monday. As of 4pm on Monday, 99 weather stations nationwide had matched or exceeded previous temperature records for May, the weather office said. '(It's so hot) in Zhengzhou that I'm covered in sweat just from cycling for 10 minutes in a skirt and sun-protective top,' one user wrote on the Weibo social media platform. 'Any chance you could send a few degrees up to the northeast? It's still freezing here,' quipped another. The weather office said the extreme heat was set to dissipate by Friday, adding that some areas would see rapid drops of up to 15C. It urged people to 'add extra layers of clothing in a timely way as the weather changes, (to avoid) catching a cold'. Last year, dozens of people were killed and thousands evacuated during storms across China that caused severe flooding. China is the biggest global producer of the greenhouse gases scientists say drive climate change and make extreme weather more frequent and intense. Beijing aims to bring carbon emissions to a peak this decade ahead of sharp cuts through to 2060, and has dramatically ramped up wind and solar energy installations in recent years as it seeks to wean its huge economy off highly polluting coal. Emissions peaking? China's emissions fell in the first quarter of 2025 despite rapidly growing power demand, analysis published last week showed, seen as a key milestone in the country's decarbonisation push. New wind, solar and nuclear capacity meant CO2 emissions fell by 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, and one percent in the 12 months to March, said analyst Lauri Myllyvirta at the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Last month, China's national energy body said wind and solar energy capacity had surpassed that of mostly coal-powered thermal for the first time. It added that wind and solar additions had 'far exceeded' the total increase in electricity consumption, a trend that experts said may mean carbon emissions from the power sector are on the verge of peaking. Despite the renewable energy boom, China also began construction on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power projects in 2024, 93% of the global total, according to a February report from CREA and the US-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM). China's coal production has risen steadily in recent years, from 3.9 billion tonnes in 2020 to 4.8 billion tonnes in 2024.
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Japan is sticking to demand for US to eliminate tariffs, trade envoy says
Japan was the first major economy to start bilateral trade talks with Washington. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO : Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said today that there was no change to Tokyo's stance of demanding an elimination of US tariffs in bilateral trade negotiations. 'Tokyo will not rush into clinching a trade deal if doing so risked hurting the country's interests,' he said. 'The slew of US tariffs, including reciprocal tariffs as well as those on automobiles, car parts, steel and aluminium, are regrettable. 'There's no change to our stance of seeking a review, which is to say an elimination, of them,' Akazawa told a regular press conference. Akazawa said the two countries held working-level trade talks in Washington yesterday. 'The schedule of a third round of ministerial-level negotiations was yet to be fixed,' he added. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported today that Akazawa will travel to Washington this week to attend the third round of talks, potentially starting on Friday. US trade representative Jamieson Greer is expected to attend the talks, while treasury secretary Scott Bessent will be absent, Kyodo reported without citing sources. On April 2, US President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on all countries except Canada, Mexico and China, along with higher tariff rates for many big trading partners, including Japan, which faces a 24% tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington. Japanese policymakers and ruling party lawmakers have said they see no merit in striking a deal with the US unless a 25% tariff on automobile imports is lifted, given the industry's economic importance. While Japan was the first major economy to start bilateral trade talks with Washington, Britain was the first to strike a deal with the Trump administration. China and the US also agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade war that had threatened a global recession. With initial hope of a quick deal failing, the Nikkei newspaper reported last week that Japan may water down its demand to a reduction, rather than an elimination, of US tariffs. A source with knowledge of the negotiations has told Reuters that Japan is considering a package of proposals to gain US concessions that may include increased imports of US corn and soy, technical cooperation in shipbuilding, and revision to inspection standards for imported automobiles.
Free Malaysia Today
14-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Vietnam PM vows to fight against counterfeits, trade frauds
The Vietnamese government said smuggling and the illegal cross-border transportation of goods remain complicated. (EPA Images pic) HANOI : Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh today urged the country's anti-counterfeit task force to devise new ways to fight fake goods, trade frauds and smuggling, the government said in a statement. The pledge came as Vietnam is in talks to avoid crippling US tariffs, offering Washington multiple measures to address longstanding concerns, including on intellectual property breaches and transhipment of Chinese goods through the country. Internal documents reviewed by Reuters showed the government last month instructed officials to step up the fight against counterfeits, digital piracy, and the transhipment of Chinese goods to the US, which Vietnamese officials often refer to as trade fraud. The government said frauds were widespread and were increasing on online platforms, noting recent cases of fake milk, food and supplement products had 'seriously affected people's health and social order'. The government said 1,100 cases of counterfeit and intellectual property violations, 25,100 cases of trade and tax frauds and 8,200 cases of smuggling contraband and prohibited articles had been detected this year. There were no comparative figures in the statement. 'The situation of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods remains complicated,' the government said. 'Domestically, the production and trade of counterfeits, poor-quality goods and goods of unknown origin is openly widespread, and is on the rising trend on e-commerce environment on a large scale and for a long time, directly affecting people's health,' the government said. Yesterday, the public security ministry said police arrested the former head of health ministry's food safety department in a fake supplement production and trading case. 'Nguyen Thanh Phong was accused by police of taking bribes since 2016 to issue quality certificates to nine local companies that produced counterfeit supplements,' the ministry said.
