Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is announcing that the Seventh Japan-China-Republic of Korea Trilateral Economic & Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Seoul, Korea on May 23. At the meeting, opinions were exchanged on cooperation among Japan, China, and Korea, as well as regional and global cooperation.
China's Ministry of Commerce reports that the latest data issued by Wuhan Customs indicated that in the first 4 months, total trade between Hubei province and ASEAN stood at US 650M, rising 60%, US 10M more than the U.S., and consequently, ASEAN has overtaken the U.S. to be the provincial third biggest trade partner. On January 1, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was officially put into operation.
The World Customs Organization Secretary General and the Director of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will help identify and address the needs of Customs administrations in emerging areas in using open IT for common data standards, such as the WCO Data Model.
China's Ministry of Commerce reports that the State Post Bureau of China has granted international express service business licenses to 18 express enterprises including United Parcel Service, Inc. This brings the total number of State Post (27) and municipal (99) postal administration express service business licenses to 126 to date.
Transport Canada has announced a new Air Cargo Security Program to be phased in and fully implemented by 2015. The program will build on the more rigorous screening requirements that were initiated in 2009-2010 and is to be fully compatible with U.S. cargo screening requirements.
The European Council has called on the European Commission to present proposals to revise EC trademark regulations. Among other things, the revisions should establish a clear legal basis for the involvement of EC level institutions in enforcement-related activities, including the fight against counterfeiting.
A five-day conference on fish conservation opened at United Nations Headquarters in New York on May 24, 2010, amid warnings that three quarters of the world’s fish stocks are in distress and nearing depletion. The conference is reviewing implementation of the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, and will provide an opportunity for countries to consider new measures to tighten implementation of the legal regime.
China's Ministry of Commerce reports that Chongqing Cuntan port and Canadian central port inked an agreement in Shanghai on May 18 to bolster the expanding of trade and investment of the two countries. Based on the agreement, these inland ports will cooperate in information exchange, strategic partnership and technology sharing.
GOV.cn reports that the Chinese Foreign Ministry refuted criticism by the U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus that Canada, China, Mexico, Russia and Spain were failing to crack down on the piracy of copyrighted films, music, video games and other entertainment products. It said the Chinese government attached great importance to IPR protection and has embedded it into its national strategy.
The U.S. and India will hold the first meeting of a U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue from June 1-4, 2010. Senior delegations from both governments will discuss a range of issues including agriculture, energy, education, trade, and counterterrorism. The delegations will also hold in-depth discussions on global and regional issues.