The 58th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings convened in Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Saturday, and will run through Tuesday.
The meetings will focus on topics including advancing trade and investment, digital transformation, micro, small and medium enterprises development, innovation and sustainable growth, according to the chair, Philippines' Trade Secretary Cristina Roque.
Roque said ministers discussed issues and direction that will feed into the upcoming leaders' discussions at the 49th ASEAN Summit, set to be held in November.
Secretary-General of ASEAN Kao Kim Hourn said the gathering of economic ministers reaffirmed ASEAN's commitment to strengthening collective responses to the evolving global and regional economic outlook, including the impacts of the Middle East crisis on the region.
ASEAN ministers gather in Philippines to discuss economic issues
China's six-member wushu taolu team began its Asian Games campaign on Sunday, the first full day of competition at the 20th Asian Games, with five athletes making their debut.
Wushu at the Games is divided into taolu, which features choreographed martial arts routines, and sanda, a full-contact fighting discipline. The taolu competition runs from Sunday through Wednesday, Sept. 20-23, at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
The squad has completed two familiarization sessions at the venue and will contest in six of the eight taolu medal events, skipping the men's and women's Changquan, or long-fist, competitions.
The six athletes are aged from 25 to 35. Tong Xin is the only member with previous Asian Games experience.
"Apart from Tong Xin, who competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the remaining five athletes are making their Asian Games debuts. They are leading athletes from their provincial teams and seasoned competitors who have been tested at major events, including world championships and World Cups," said Li Qiang, head coach of China's wushu taolu team.
While the Asian Games will be new to most of the squad, their competition routines are not. The athletes have been refining them for more than three years, and in some cases for a decade.
"A wushu saying goes: 'Practice a form a thousand times, and the technique will come naturally.' After honing a movement day after day, year after year, our understanding of it and our feel for it change. Another saying is 'strive for perfection.' That is why we spend 10 years working on a single movement," said Li Jianming, a member of the team.
China's wushu team opens Asian Games campaign with five debutants
China's wushu team opens Asian Games campaign with five debutants
