Latest news with #Loh
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
China's Xi Gives Up Air Miles for More Time at Home
Chinese leader Xi Jinping isn't quite the frequent flier he used to be. People are wondering why. The most well-traveled leader in China's history has reduced his international journeys in recent years, easing a once-packed diplomatic schedule that had honed his reputation as a globe-trotting statesman. Xi traveled to 10 countries across four overseas trips in 2024, and five nations over three trips in the first half of this year, compared with his average of visiting about 14 countries a year between 2013 and 2019, and a 20-nation peak he set in 2014. Since resuming foreign travel in 2022 after a 32-month pause during the Covid pandemic, he has yet to match the peripatetic pace he set during his first two terms in power. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan disembarked from a plane in Bali, Indonesia, in 2022. This month, Xi skipped an annual summit of the Brics bloc of emerging nations after participating in the past 12 meetings—the second time in two years that he missed a major international gathering where he had been a fixture. Both times he sent Premier Li Qiang, one of Xi's top lieutenants, to represent Beijing. Meanwhile, a China-European Union summit originally set to take place in Brussels this year was moved to Beijing after Chinese officials signaled to EU counterparts that Xi had no plans to visit Europe this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Xi is scheduled to meet EU leaders in Beijing on Thursday when they visit for the summit. Chinese officials haven't explained why Xi chose not to travel for these events, or commented on his reduced foreign visits. China's Foreign Ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. Some analysts say Xi, 72, may be dialing back his travels to devolve some of the many responsibilities he wields as leader, particularly as he grows older and approaches the end of his third five-year term as Communist Party chief in 2027. 'Xi is increasingly willing to delegate the operational bits of foreign policy to his trusted interlocutors,' said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University who studies China's diplomacy. Xi may be doing so to better manage his energy, given his age, and to prioritize domestic issues as Beijing grapples with persistent economic headwinds such as weak consumer demand, according to Loh. 'China is certainly not taking its eyes off foreign policy,' Loh said. 'But it seems to me that Xi is now content with exercising broad strategic direction and while selectively choosing his trips abroad.' Since taking power in 2012, Xi has used his foreign excursions to expand China's economic and political reach around the globe—and stamp his mark as a world leader. These trips have often come with promises of infrastructure investment and deeper trade ties, aimed at positioning Beijing as a benign partner and strategic counterweight to Washington. More recently, China is also trying to capitalize on what many see as a U.S. retreat from global leadership, marked by President Trump's moves to cut foreign aid, sideline multilateral institutions and impose tariffs on adversaries and allies alike. Xi has sought to cast China as a responsible power and a source of stability, using a mix of political, economic and soft-power tools to reshape global narratives in Beijing's favor. To that end, Xi has stayed active on the diplomatic circuit—as a host. China lifted its Covid border controls in late 2022, and foreign leaders have been traveling there at a frequency similar to prepandemic levels. In 2023, Xi hosted at least 74 visits by foreign heads of state and government, as well as de facto leaders, according to a Wall Street Journal review of Chinese Foreign Ministry disclosures. The count, which includes repeat visits by some leaders, rose to 84 last year, compared with the average of about 76 trips that Xi hosted annually between 2013 and 2019. Xi has welcomed leaders from more than a dozen countries so far this year, including Australia's prime minister, who visited Beijing this month. Xi is expected to host more foreign counterparts visiting China later this year to attend diplomatic summits and a military parade. Xi's lieutenants have picked up the slack in foreign travel. Li, during his first full year as premier in 2024, journeyed abroad at a pace similar to that set by his predecessor, Li Keqiang, before the pandemic. Li Qiang traveled to 13 countries last year, matching the number that Li Keqiang visited in his most prolific year in 2014. Another frequent flier is Liu Jianchao, a veteran diplomat and chief of the Communist Party's International Department, which handles relations with foreign political parties and socialist states. A candidate for foreign minister, Liu has traveled more often than his predecessor did since getting the job in 2022, including trips to the U.S. and other Western democracies that past International Department chiefs generally hadn't visited. As China's leader, Xi has embarked on more than 50 international trips and visited more than 70 countries, far surpassing what his predecessors did. He has also hosted visiting world leaders more frequently than previous Chinese heads of state or recent U.S. presidents, according to data collated by Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The Covid pandemic kept Xi in China between 2020 and 2022. During that time, he mostly relied on phone calls and videoconferencing to engage with foreign counterparts. When he restarted international travel in late 2022, Xi first visited nearby countries in Asia before venturing further in subsequent trips. Xi's evolving travel patterns drew attention in the fall of 2023, when he skipped a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing economies that India was hosting. He sent Premier Li instead. Chinese officials didn't say why Xi missed an event where he had been a regular participant. China had typically been represented by its president at G-20 summits since the bloc began arranging leader-level meetings in 2008. In early July, when Xi skipped the Brics summit, Li filled in at the meeting in Brazil, where Xi had gone just seven months earlier to attend a G-20 summit and conduct a state visit. Diplomats and analysts say that Xi's decision to skip a Brics summit is notable given his efforts to boost the relevance of multilateral groupings where China holds greater sway, compared with institutions such as G-20, which Beijing has portrayed as too beholden to the U.S. The Brics group—named after its early members of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—has presented itself as a multilateral counterweight to a U.S.-dominated world order. 'Physical stamina is a precious political resource, and Xi knows it. As Xi grows older, he is carefully managing his travel to preserve his strength,' said Thomas, the fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'Skipping the Brics summit in Brazil likely had less to do with geopolitics and more with jet lag. A 48-hour round-trip for a two-day meeting just was not worth the physical toll.' Write to Chun Han Wong at
Mint
11 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
China's Xi gives up air miles for more time at home
The most well-traveled leader in China's history has reduced his international journeys in recent years, easing a once-packed diplomatic schedule that had honed his reputation as a globe-trotting statesman. Xi traveled to 10 countries across four overseas trips in 2024, and five nations over three trips in the first half of this year, compared with his average of visiting about 14 countries a year between 2013 and 2019, and a 20-nation peak he set in 2014. Since resuming foreign travel in 2022 after a 32-month pause during the Covid pandemic, he has yet to match the peripatetic pace he set during his first two terms in power. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan disembarked from a plane in Bali, Indonesia, in 2022. This month, Xi skipped an annual summit of the Brics bloc of emerging nations after participating in the past 12 meetings—the second time in two years that he missed a major international gathering where he had been a fixture. Both times he sent Premier Li Qiang, one of Xi's top lieutenants, to represent Beijing. Meanwhile, a China-European Union summit originally set to take place in Brussels this year was moved to Beijing after Chinese officials signaled to EU counterparts that Xi had no plans to visit Europe this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Xi is scheduled to meet EU leaders in Beijing on Thursday when they visit for the summit. Chinese officials haven't explained why Xi chose not to travel for these events, or commented on his reduced foreign visits. China's Foreign Ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. Some analysts say Xi, 72, may be dialing back his travels to devolve some of the many responsibilities he wields as leader, particularly as he grows older and approaches the end of his third five-year term as Communist Party chief in 2027. 'Xi is increasingly willing to delegate the operational bits of foreign policy to his trusted interlocutors," said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University who studies China's diplomacy. Xi may be doing so to better manage his energy, given his age, and to prioritize domestic issues as Beijing grapples with persistent economic headwinds such as weak consumer demand, according to Loh. 'China is certainly not taking its eyes off foreign policy," Loh said. 'But it seems to me that Xi is now content with exercising broad strategic direction and while selectively choosing his trips abroad." Since taking power in 2012, Xi has used his foreign excursions to expand China's economic and political reach around the globe—and stamp his mark as a world leader. These trips have often come with promises of infrastructure investment and deeper trade ties, aimed at positioning Beijing as a benign partner and strategic counterweight to Washington. More recently, China is also trying to capitalize on what many see as a U.S. retreat from global leadership, marked by President Trump's moves to cut foreign aid, sideline multilateral institutions and impose tariffs on adversaries and allies alike. Xi has sought to cast China as a responsible power and a source of stability, using a mix of political, economic and soft-power tools to reshape global narratives in Beijing's favor. To that end, Xi has stayed active on the diplomatic circuit—as a host. China lifted its Covid border controls in late 2022, and foreign leaders have been traveling there at a frequency similar to prepandemic levels. In 2023, Xi hosted at least 74 visits by foreign heads of state and government, as well as de facto leaders, according to a Wall Street Journal review of Chinese Foreign Ministry disclosures. The count, which includes repeat visits by some leaders, rose to 84 last year, compared with the average of about 76 trips that Xi hosted annually between 2013 and 2019. Xi has welcomed leaders from more than a dozen countries so far this year, including Australia's prime minister, who visited Beijing this month. Xi is expected to host more foreign counterparts visiting China later this year to attend diplomatic summits and a military parade. Xi's lieutenants have picked up the slack in foreign travel. Li, during his first full year as premier in 2024, journeyed abroad at a pace similar to that set by his predecessor, Li Keqiang, before the pandemic. Li Qiang traveled to 13 countries last year, matching the number that Li Keqiang visited in his most prolific year in 2014. Another frequent flier is Liu Jianchao, a veteran diplomat and chief of the Communist Party's International Department, which handles relations with foreign political parties and socialist states. A candidate for foreign minister, Liu has traveled more often than his predecessor did since getting the job in 2022, including trips to the U.S. and other Western democracies that past International Department chiefs generally hadn't visited. As China's leader, Xi has embarked on more than 50 international trips and visited more than 70 countries, far surpassing what his predecessors did. He has also hosted visiting world leaders more frequently than previous Chinese heads of state or recent U.S. presidents, according to data collated by Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The Covid pandemic kept Xi in China between 2020 and 2022. During that time, he mostly relied on phone calls and videoconferencing to engage with foreign counterparts. When he restarted international travel in late 2022, Xi first visited nearby countries in Asia before venturing further in subsequent trips. Xi's evolving travel patterns drew attention in the fall of 2023, when he skipped a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing economies that India was hosting. He sent Premier Li instead. Chinese officials didn't say why Xi missed an event where he had been a regular participant. China had typically been represented by its president at G-20 summits since the bloc began arranging leader-level meetings in 2008. In early July, when Xi skipped the Brics summit, Li filled in at the meeting in Brazil, where Xi had gone just seven months earlier to attend a G-20 summit and conduct a state visit. Diplomats and analysts say that Xi's decision to skip a Brics summit is notable given his efforts to boost the relevance of multilateral groupings where China holds greater sway, compared with institutions such as G-20, which Beijing has portrayed as too beholden to the U.S. The Brics group—named after its early members of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—has presented itself as a multilateral counterweight to a U.S.-dominated world order. 'Physical stamina is a precious political resource, and Xi knows it. As Xi grows older, he is carefully managing his travel to preserve his strength," said Thomas, the fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'Skipping the Brics summit in Brazil likely had less to do with geopolitics and more with jet lag. A 48-hour round-trip for a two-day meeting just was not worth the physical toll." Write to Chun Han Wong at
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Survey: Trust, emotion drive Malaysian consumer loyalty
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian consumer loyalty in 2025 is increasingly shaped by emotional connection, cultural relevance, and brand responsiveness, rather than traditional drivers such as price or convenience, according to a report by brand consultancy IDTG Asia. The report, titled Malaysian Consumers Speak 2025, is based on a survey of 150 Malaysians and outlines six key behaviours influencing brand trust and loyalty in the current market landscape. IDTG Asia founder and chief strategist Shane Loh said that modern consumers are no longer just attracted to rewards; they seek emotional connection and genuine recognition. She said that simple, thoughtful gestures such as a customer service agent recognising a returning customer or a sincere birthday greeting can go a long way in fostering a sense of connection and belonging. Loh also emphasised that relatability has become a strategic imperative for brands aiming to stand out, with those that mirror the everyday experiences of Malaysian consumers gaining a competitive edge. The report cited brands like Tealive, HYGR, and Padini as examples of successful localisation, noting that their culturally attuned products, branding, and tone of voice have helped build stronger trust and relevance among local consumers. Loh said inconsistencies in brand messaging, tone, and customer service across platforms can erode trust. Brands are encouraged to conduct regular audits to ensure cohesion between digital and physical channels. "Consider the consistent clarity of Petroliam Nasional Bhd's communications, whether at the pump, in a corporate social responsibility video, or through a mobile app; the experience feels cohesive and confidently aligned with the brand's values," she added. The report said Malaysian consumers today demand a smooth and integrated experience between online and offline platforms. Citing Zus Coffee as a prime example, the fast-growing local coffee chain has successfully built its brand on a seamless, technology-driven approach that links its digital presence with its physical stores. Loh said with product discovery now happening via entertainment content, social media has become a critical storefront. "Being trendy is not the same as being trustworthy. What actually makes people buy is not just what is viral, it is what feels useful, credible, and real. "A TikTok trend may catch the eye, but it is the relevance and social proof that seal the deal. Christy Ng is a shining example of a brand that has mastered this balance," she added.
Business Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Shatec building sale part of asset management strategy, amid long-term plan reviews
[SINGAPORE] The sale of Shatec's Bukit Batok building is part of the hospitality school's asset management strategy, with the institute 'currently in the early stages of reviewing its long-term plans', said board chairman Loh Lik Peng in response to queries from The Business Times. But he did not address a query on whether Shatec is gradually closing, or whether its first overseas institute in Saudi Arabia is affected. 'As the review is still ongoing, we are unable to provide further comments,' Loh said. In a joint media statement on Thursday (Jul 3) night, Shatec and the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) said the hospitality school is 'conducting a business containment exercise'. This exercise, which took effect from Apr 1, resulted in a scaling down of operations while reviewing Shatec's long-term plans, said Loh and FDAWU general secretary Sankaradass S Chami. Shatec will continue its committed continuing education and training runs. It will teach its 'last batch' of pre-employment training students until March 2026 or the committed end date, whichever comes later. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am SGSME Get updates on Singapore's SME community, along with profiles, news and tips. Sign Up Sign Up 'This decision, made by the Shatec board after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of its current operations' commercial viability, will allow Shatec to strategise its future direction,' said the statement. The Sapling, which Shatec operated as a training restaurant for its students, closed in March this year. On its website, Shatec said the move was made as the institute 'transitions away from full-time programmes'. Its building at 21 Bukit Batok Street 22 was put up for sale in May by CBRE, the exclusive marketing agent. It was priced at around S$18 million, with the sale to be conducted via private treaty. A satellite campus in Orchard Road, opened in January 2024, reportedly closed at the end of June 2025. 42 staff affected The school is unionised under FDAWU, which is affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress. Shatec gave the union advance notice of the exercise, which saw 42 staff retrenched. The union has been working with management to assist these staff and ensure fair compensation, in line with unionised norms, said the statement. Previously known as the Singapore Hotel Association Training and Education Centre, Shatec was set up in 1983 by the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) to develop a talent pipeline for the hospitality industry. It offers courses in hospitality, tourism and culinary arts. In response to queries about Shatec's potential closure, SHA referred BT to Loh's official statement. Bukit Batok building, Saudi Arabia institute According to CBRE, Shatec's Bukit Batok building sits on a 40,901-square-foot (sq ft) land plot with a lease tenure until 2051. The property has a gross floor area of around 64,548 sq ft. The site is designated 'Business 1' in the Master Plan 2019. With a plot ratio of 2.5, it allows a built-up area of about 102,253 sq ft, 'offering substantial redevelopment potential', CBRE said in May. 'The property is well-built to support light manufacturing and production usage, as well as regional (research and development) offices,' it added. In March 2024, Shatec announced that it was opening its first overseas institute in Riyadh, with classes to begin in the second half of the year. This was supported by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), the Singapore Tourism Board and the Saudi Arabian government. With the support of an EnterpriseSG grant, Shatec signed a licence agreement with Modern Hospitality Company, a joint venture by Saudi companies that would fund and run the school.
The Star
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Watsons Beautopia returns as Malaysia's biggest-ever experiential health and beauty expo
Loh (centre), Watsons Malaysia chief operating officer Danny Hoh (second from right), Watsons Ambassadors Ayda Jebat (third from right) and Phei Yong (second from left), IOI Properties Group Bhd chief operating officer Chris Chong (third from left) and Watsons Celebrity Friends Nabil Aqil (right) and Tracie Sinidol (left) at the launch of Watsons Beautopia 2025. KUALA LUMPUR: Watsons Malaysia announces the return of Watsons Beautopia, the brand's most ambitious and immersive beauty and wellness expo to date. Taking place from July 3 to 6 at the IOI Grand Exhibition and Convention Centre in Putrajaya, Beautopia 2025 brings together over 150 leading beauty and wellness brands for a vibrant celebration of beauty, wellness and community. Watsons continues to elevate the beauty retail experience through innovation, inclusivity and engagement. This year's Beautopia is bigger and more immersive than ever before, offering four days of exclusive product launches, interactive experiences and expert-led engagements that aim to inspire, educate and empower customers. 'Watsons Beautopia 2025 is more than just an event, it's a celebration of beauty in all its forms. 'We're proud to present a platform that brings together global beauty innovations, community connection, and immersive discovery. 'This is our continued commitment to being the trusted beauty and wellness partner for all Malaysians,' said Watsons Malaysia managing director and AS Watson Group Health and Beauty Asia chief operating officer Caryn Loh. The expo features the best of K-Beauty, J-Beauty, C-Beauty, M-Beauty and international favourites, as well as popular homegrown brands, giving visitors access to the most sought-after trends and latest innovations across skincare, cosmetics, haircare, personal care and wellness. To make the experience even more exciting, Watsons has lined up a series of exclusive rewards. All RSVP attendees will receive an RM10 e-cash voucher and W Rewards members can redeem products and vouchers. Shoppers are also treated to Gifts with Purchase, with a minimum spend of RM100 and above.
