Technology

APEC crucial for a rules-based multilateral trading system

Published

2 years ago

November 18, 2024

BEIJING, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru, concluded on Saturday, with leaders of 21 member economies calling for enhanced free trade and greater connectivity. Facing unprecedented global risks and challenges that cannot be addressed by any single economy alone, Asia-Pacific economies are expected to engage in closer cooperation to withstand turbulence and build a community with a shared future for mankind. In an interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Qian Jiayin, Cynthia Sanborn (Sanborn), director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific at Universidad del Pacífico in Peru, said that APEC serves as a useful platform for developing business contacts and opening new opportunities for trade.

GT: The theme of this year’s APEC meeting is “Empower, Include, Grow.” Why do you think this theme was chosen for the APEC meeting in Peru? How has the APEC mechanism contributed to the development of Latin American countries?

Sanborn: I think that the primary objective is to “overcome existing differences among the group” of member economies – including the US, China, Russia, among others – aimed at bridging existing differences. This collaborative effort seeks to establish a roadmap toward an integrated global economy.

Inclusion holds particular significance in this theme, as organizers are committed to fostering active engagement from sectors within these societies that have traditionally been marginalized in national and global forums. These sectors include women, Indigenous communities and young people.

In evaluating the developmental impact of this forum, it is important to note that only three Latin American countries – Peru, Chile and Mexico – are members of APEC. As small open economies and major commodity exporters, Peru and Chile have benefitted enormously from their early participation in diverse international forums dedicated to free trade and globalization. Their opening to Asian markets and trade has significantly contributed to their economic growth and development.

Today, China stands as the largest trading partner for both Peru and Chile, underscoring the significance of these ties. Peru, for instance, has established trade agreements with 14 of the 21 APEC member economies. Furthermore, participation in APEC has facilitated the involvement of Latin American countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, reinforcing their commitment to regional integration and trade expansion.

In addition, APEC serves as a useful platform for developing business contacts and opening new opportunities for trade.

GT: The Chinese-invested and built Chancay Port was opened on November 14, marking another iconic project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Latin America. What are your views on the future prospects of Chinese investment in Peru and Latin America?

Sanborn: It is important to emphasize the significant potential and interest within Latin America for expanding Chinese investment, particularly in high value-added sectors that can drive sustainable development. While certain countries, like Brazil, are not formal participants in the BRI, they nonetheless attract substantial Chinese investment in critical areas such as renewable energy and electric vehicle production, underscoring the strategic importance of these partnerships. Peru, with the development of the Chancay Port, also stands ready to be a logistic and maritime trading hub, connecting all of South America with Asia, as well as creating a special economic zone in which such value-added industries can be developed.

GT: APEC has long worked to eliminate trade barriers in the Asia-Pacific region. However, given the rise of protectionism and the severe challenges facing the multilateral trading system, how do you think the APEC multilateral framework should respond to these challenges?

Sanborn: The rise of protectionism is a pressing concern for countries in Latin America. We have free trade agreements with over half of APEC members, including key partners such as the US and China. We remain hopeful that these agreements will be respected across political transitions, preserving the mutual economic benefits they provide. In this context, forums like APEC are crucial for keeping the discussion of fair and open trade on the table, serving as vital platforms to advocate for a rules-based multilateral trading system.

GT: With APEC and G20 being held in Latin American countries, issues like the rise of the Global South and global governance have again become key topics of focus for participants. What does the rise of the Global South in global governance mean?

Sanborn: The evolving role of the Global South in global governance has become an important topic of discussion, with Latin American leaders having contributed to the demands of developing countries for a redefinition of global institutions and for greater attention to issues such as climate change, inequality, and social and environmental justice. Yet, it is also clear that the countries commonly grouped under the “Global South,” including those in Latin America, do not form a monolithic bloc and often differ in their perspectives and policies.

On global issues like the crises in Gaza and Ukraine, Latin American countries hold a range of views, reflecting the region’s diverse political landscapes and priorities. Navigating the path toward transformative change in global governance while respecting the varied standpoints and complex realities of these nations remains an ongoing challenge.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apec-crucial-for-a-rules-based-multilateral-trading-system-302307939.html

SOURCE Global Times

Technology

Trip.com Group Sincerely Accepts Administrative Penalty Decision Issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China

Published

2 hours ago

July 25, 2026

SINGAPORE, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM; HKEX: 9961) today announced that it has received the administrative penalty decision issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China.

Trip.com Group sincerely accepts the decision and will adopt rectification measures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to implement the decision’s requirements. The Company will strengthen its long-term governance mechanisms and strive to contribute to the sustainable development of the travel industry.

Trip.com Group’s management team will host a conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on July 27, 2026 (or 8:00 PM Hong Kong Time on July 27, 2026).

The conference call will be available on Webcast live at: http://investors.trip.com.

All participants must pre-register to join this conference call using the participant registration link below:
https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIb78e08d8f18340c4882a7e4ab961906b.

Upon registration, each participant will receive details for this conference call, including dial-in numbers and a unique access PIN. To join the conference, please dial the number provided, enter your PIN, and you will join the conference instantly.

For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Trip.com Group Limited
Email: iremail@trip.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tripcom-group-sincerely-accepts-administrative-penalty-decision-issued-by-the-state-administration-for-market-regulation-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-302834599.html

SOURCE Trip.com Group Limited

Technology

NAVER Partners with Brookfield and NVIDIA to Expand Korea’s National AI Factory Infrastructure Buildout

Published

4 hours ago

July 25, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NAVER, Brookfield and NVIDIA announced an expansion of Korea’s sovereign AI factory infrastructure. New investments will increase the initial NVIDIA DSX™ AI factory deployment from 55 megawatts to 200 megawatts.

Announced during Korea President Jae Myung Lee’s AI Summit visit to San Francisco, the planned 200-megawatt expansion will be built with the NVIDIA DSX platform at NAVER’s GAK Sejong hyperscale data center in Sejong, South Korea. The expanded infrastructure will provide Korea- and U.S.- based AI innovators with access to production-scale AI compute for building next-generation models, agents and AI-powered services.

Under the terms of the agreements, Brookfield will fund up to $9 billion as the exclusive capital partner, NVIDIA will invest $1 billion and NAVER will fund the remaining amount to finance the $10 billion project.

This builds on NAVER’s June announcement to extend its GAK Sejong data center with NVIDIA DSX, with a long-term path to gigawatt-scale sovereign AI infrastructure serving Korea’s enterprises, industries, government organizations and global AI cloud customers. Combining Brookfield’s capital with NVIDIA’s computing platform, the investment supports NAVER’s AI factory deployment.

“NVIDIA’s strategic investment and our infrastructure supply agreement with Brookfield have propelled NAVER’s vision for the AI Factory business into a robust execution phase,” said Haejin Lee, Founder and Chairman of NAVER. “Leveraging the solid partnerships with our global partners, we will drive technological innovation, foster a sovereign AI ecosystem, and spearhead efforts to strengthen South Korea’s AI competitiveness.”

AI Factory Expansion and Open Model Collaboration to Fuel AI Innovators

NAVER, as an NVIDIA Cloud Partner, provides deep expertise in operating hyperscale infrastructure powered by the full-stack NVIDIA AI platform. The 200-megawatt AI factory, featuring NVIDIA Vera Rubin and Blackwell platforms, will establish a dedicated resource pool for emerging AI companies, providing the compute, software and support needed to develop and deploy competitive AI models and applications at scale.

This expanded infrastructure also builds on NAVER and NVIDIA’s collaboration on open model development for agentic and physical AI. NAVER is advancing its HyperCLOVA X models to be based on NVIDIA Nemotron™ 3 Ultra open models with its proprietary data and training expertise. NAVER is also the first Korean company to join the NVIDIA Nemotron Coalition, contributing to open model development across pretraining, post-training and reinforcement learning.

NAVER plans to launch an AI agent platform in Korea in the second half of the year, powered by NVIDIA Agent Toolkit software including NVIDIA NemoClaw™ blueprints. NAVER is also developing a Seoul World Model using proprietary urban street-view and spatial modeling data, built on NVIDIA Cosmos™ world foundation models.

About NAVER

Founded in 1999, NAVER is Korea’s largest Internet company and one of the world’s top tech companies. Leading cutting-edge technologies, NAVER operates the No.1 search engine in Korea and holds various business portfolios encompassing commerce, fintech, cloud, AI and robotics.

NAVER recorded sales of KRW 12.04 trillion (USD 8.18 billion) in 2025. TEAM NAVER continues to enhance its business portfolio and expand its global presence across Japan, North America, and Europe, while pursuing innovation through continuous research and development in future technologies.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/naver-partners-with-brookfield-and-nvidia-to-expand-koreas-national-ai-factory-infrastructure-buildout-302834577.html

SOURCE NAVER

Technology

Beijing Review: Walking Through Time: China and U.S. Youths Explore Dali’s Past and Future

Published

4 hours ago

July 25, 2026

BEIJING, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On July 17, a China-U.S. youth delegation came to Dali of Yunnan Province. By examining how Dali’s rich history intersects with modern development, the delegates explored new pathways for rural development.

They visited Dali Old Town, tried their hand at making the Bai people’s Three-Course Tea and also explored the ancient town of Xizhou, where they learned how modern tourism and indigenous life coexist.

In Yunnanyi Village, they explored its history as a stop along the Tea Horse Road and learned about the role it played during the Second World War (WWII).

Tyler James Smith

“I think it’s a very underappreciated part of World War II history. Hearing these stories of different countries working together despite cultural differences is incredibly inspiring.

I also think there are many stories like these that haven’t been widely told, simply because World War II is such a complex period in history. That’s why I think it’s so meaningful to visit museums like this and experience these stories firsthand.”

At Xiangyun Economic and Technological Development Zone, they visited a local new energy company to see how green, low-carbon development is driving regional growth.

Valerie Marie

“I recently started studying energy transitions. I know China has been really big in the renewable energy sector. So actually getting to hear more about [China’s] 2060 [pledge], learning more about carbon neutrality [goals], as well as other zero-carbon goals, was cool.”

During their stay in Dali, they also strolled along the Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor.

Bai Yiwen

“I’d describe this journey as “to be continued,” because my own connection with Yunnan is far from over. For the U.S. delegates, this was only their first visit, so they’ve only had a glimpse of what Yunnan has to offer. I hope they will have more opportunities to come back to China, explore other cities in Yunnan, and discover even more of its people, culture and traditions.”

After Dali, the delegates will visit Beijing for more tours and exchanges. The event was co-hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) Center for the Americas and the U.S.-based International Student Conferences.

https://x.com/beijingreview/status/2080104404552663067?s=46&t=yfVMVdMyE2zKAFrYaLoV-g

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EtGCCKzy4/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.tiktok.com/@cachinachic/video/7665536913532587294?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227134149436605995

https://youtu.be/jGONWTqwduc?is=KfL-Zn3HyVYE-KEm

Contact: Jiaweibellapeng@163.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beijing-review-walking-through-time-china-and-us-youths-explore-dalis-past-and-future-302834587.html

SOURCE Beijing Review