Scrapping of rail project may hurt Malaysia

Soon after being elected Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad cancelled the $17 billion high-speed rail project linking the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

World Cup gives China a golden opportunity to develop soccer

A photograph showing a Beijing-Moscow train carrying a banner on its engine that reads "China's crayfish cheer for the 2018 World Cup in Russia" has gone viral on social media. The train is reported to be carrying a huge amount of frozen crayfish from Jinzhou, Central China's Hubei province, to cater to the Chinese soccer fans' taste in Russia.

Singapore summit may mark a new beginning

It is no exaggeration to say the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un on Tuesday in Singapore could be epoch-making. The denouement to months of diplomatic efforts and the on-off-on-again saga that unfolded after its announcement, the meeting is of great significance. The first between the incumbent leaders of the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, it is a face-to-face conversation that can set the course of history - for better or worse.

SCO sends positive message

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Saturday and Sunday, which brought together the heads of SCO member and observer states and relevant international and regional organizations, drew a blueprint for the SCO's development.

Tariff cuts on imported drugs show pricing system needs reforming

CHINA EXEMPTED TARIFFS on 28 categories of imported medicines, including some common anti-cancer drugs, on May 1. But the retail prices of these medicines have remained unchanged till now. Beijing News comments:

Who's responsible for plastic waste?

THIS YEAR MARKS the 10th anniversary of the ban on ultra-thin plastic bags, and it is embarrassing that despite the ban the consumption of plastic bags has continued to grow, and will continue do so in the foreseeable future with the development of e-commerce and online food deliveries. People's Daily comments:

AI and weapons might not be the smartest move

ON THURSDAY, Google released its manifesto of principles guiding Artificial Intelligence, which states it will not support the use of AI for weaponized systems. Thepaper.cn commented on Monday:

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Knowledge, innovation key to quality growth

In his speech to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping said China aims to become a global leader in innovation by 2035. He underscored the importance of strengthening China's innovation system, including the protection of intellectual property rights, and fostering a culture of innovation.

Lifting sanctions could help DPRK reform

I have been here before. Yes, I can remember that anticipation on the cusp of a moment when an economy is about to transition and take that tectonic shift from planning to market. I saw it in China in the early 1980s, and again in Vietnam and Laos in the 1990s. That feeling of nostalgia returns with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The pattern is likely to be the same.

Vital for EU to make China part of Eurasian plan

Almost five years after President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the European Union is trying to convince its 28 member states that boosting connectivity across Eurasia continent is crucial for their economies. The EU is expected to announce its strategy on connecting Asia and Europe at the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels in October.

SCO sets good example for multilateral cooperation

The 18th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which concluded in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Sunday, offered a new vision for a more just and equitable world order featuring common security and shared growth, along with open and inclusive international cooperation for better global governance.