China-Southeast Asia cooperation on NEVs takes center stage at Financial Street Forum 2024

China-Southeast Asia cooperation has been a key topic at the ongoing Financial Street Forum in Beijing, with attendees expressing positive attitudes toward further development.

The Annual Conference of the Financial Street Forum 2024, running until Sunday, is co-hosted by the Beijing government, the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xinhua News Agency, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

At the parallel forum 'China-Southeast Asia Cross-border Investment and Industrial Cooperation for High-quality Development', delegates from government units, industry associations and enterprises shared their views on the importance of economic cooperation between China and Southeast Asian nations, with some keynote speakers highlighting new energy vehicles as a key investment area.

"Southeast Asia has become a region with the most concentrated overseas investment by Chinese automobile companies, particularly in new energy vehicles (NEVs). In 2023, over 60 percent of NEVs sold in Southeast Asia were Chinese brands. The business community has been an active participant and promoter of the high-quality development of China-Southeast Asia economic and trade cooperation," said Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

"The collaboration between Indonesia and China in the area of EV ecosystem, electric vehicle ecosystem, in the past ten years has been phenomenal. Through this collaboration, the Chinese investor, Chinese corporation come to Indonesia, develop the sector, working together with the local cooperation with the governments, building something from almost scratch into something really big," said Stefanus ade hadiwidjaja, CEO of Indonesia Investment Authority.

China has been the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 15 consecutive years, and for the past four years, the two have mutually been each other's largest trading partners. As of the end of July, mutual investments had exceeded 400 billion U.S. dollars.

China-Southeast Asia cooperation on NEVs takes center stage at Financial Street Forum 2024

China-Southeast Asia cooperation on NEVs takes center stage at Financial Street Forum 2024

China-Southeast Asia cooperation on NEVs takes center stage at 2024 Financial Street Forum

Polish citizens are feeling the squeeze of surging energy costs, as the conflict in the Middle East continues to roil the international energy market,

In Poland, rising fuel prices are gradually making their way into everyday life and the real economy. Many residents said higher energy costs are taking a heavy toll.

"I do think about this issue more and try to reduce my fuel consumption. Overall, everything happening right now is unsettling," said Pawel, a Warsaw resident.

"I really feel it. Prices have gone up a lot. We're trying to cope and can manage for now. Taxi fares haven't increased yet, but it's definitely getting harder," said Wiktor, another resident.

"Of course it has affected us. Because fuel prices have gone up, everything else is more expensive and costs more now," said Anita, another local resident.

Meanwhile, those working in the transport and service sectors said rising oil prices are directly impacting their businesses.

"The courier industry, like most taxi drivers, is soon going to face closure and be forced out of business. I used to drive international long-distance buses, and honestly, some people in that sector are also thinking about quitting," said Michal, another Warsaw resident.

Lukasz Goczek, a professor from the Department of Macroeconomics and Theory of Foreign Trade at the University of Warsaw, said the continued shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor, could leave global energy prices elevated for a long time, heavily impacting the world economy.

"Iran has this huge leverage. It's got the whole world in a chokehold because 20 percent of oil that's transported in the world goes through the Strait. It obviously means that the price of energy is going to increase. We see it at the petrol stations," said Goczek.

Goczek also noted that U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran have dealt a serious blow to the international order.

"I think that's pretty much, by now, the international law. If it's not that, it's definitely very, very illegal. There wasn't any reason for war. It just straightforwardly began without any warning. So it was much of a surprise. We need the international order to have peace, to prosper, to have trade," said Goczek.

Rising energy costs squeeze Polish households, businesses