Dr. Craig Emerson, director of the Australian APEC Study Centre Vietnam’s success in containing COVID-19 with minimal economic fallout compared to other nations has improved its already-strong reputation for competent governance. The government has been liberalising Vietnam’s economy for decades and is now reaping the benefits of rapid growth. Vietnam has stood to gain from the recent US-China trade conflict with many companies relocating at least some of their production facilities there. Vietnam is also rapidly adopting digital technologies to deploy automation, smart manufacturing, and big data analytics. Competent economic management, consistent reforms, swift digital uptake, and effective COVID-19 containment make Vietnam a very attractive destination for trade and investment in 2021 and beyond. Economically, Vietnam is becoming a manufacturing powerhouse, particularly for electronics and apparel. It is also becoming a focal point for regional value chains with preferential access through free trade agreements (FTAs). It has taken up trade deal commitments and accepted assistance to develop the institutional and regulatory environment, infrastructure, and facilitation to attract investment. The country is also actively working on non-tariff barriers to trade including intellectual property protection, food safety regulations, restrictions on the internet and digital economy, and other governance issues to accelerate the absorption of investment. Vietnam needs to be considered in terms of its unique qualities and context. It is following its own development path in a new time, with different conditions, drivers, and realities. Comparisons can be made to Japan with its appreciation of tradition; to Singapore with its open trade policies and architecture; China’s southern Guangdong province in population scale and economic activity; and Indonesia in terms of benefits from a demographic dividend. Vietnam has a web of FTAs that make it a strategic …
New china international exhibition centre
VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES FEB. 25
Buddhists pray online due to COVID-19 outbreak Blood shortage warned as donations postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks The resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in many cities and provinces in recent weeks has seriously affected the blood supply for medical treatment. Although many people and organisations responded to the call of blood donation by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) on February 19, the amount of blood received per day was still only a few hundred units while the average need for treatment each day is from 1,200 to 1,500 units. There is usually a shortage of blood during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday as the holiday lasts long while blood has a short shelf life and many patients still need blood transfusions during Tết. This year, the pandemic's resurgence has made the shortage after Tết even worse. Before Tết, 30 entities requested to postpone or cancel blood donation plans which meant the NIHBT missed out on receiving more than 8,000 units. After the holiday, the institute received information about the delay of 24 more blood donation plans from now to the end of March with an expected donation of 5,000 units. In addition, the blood donation schedule in March cannot be confirmed because it depends on the university and college's return to the school schedule. This means the blood reserves of the institute are decreasing. If this situation continues, blood reserves will decrease to an alarming threshold, fell into a state of scarcity and seriously affect the blood supply to health facilities. The Institute’s director Bạch Quốc Khánh said: “The estimated blood demand for emergency and treatment in February and March of the institute is about 50,000 units.” “With blood donation schedules maintained up to now, there was still a shortage of about 20,000 units, seriously affecting the provision of 177 medical facilities in 28 provinces and cities in the north with about 41 million …
World News in Brief: February 26
* China and India should firmly follow the right path of mutual trust and cooperation between neighboring major countries, and not go astray with suspicion and distrust nor fall back on a road of negative retrogression, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday. Wang made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stressing that the two sides should maintain the strategic consensuses reached by their leaders. * As COVID-19 transmission rates seemingly decline across the European Region, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge expressed health concerns over "long-COVID" or "post-COVID" symptoms at a virtual press conference on Thursday. * Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Armenia in a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday, the Kremlin said. * The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that the US military had conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria. The Pentagon called the operation a "proportionate military response" carried out after consultations with coalition partners. * China approved two more vaccines for public use, raising the number of domestically produced vaccines that can be used in China to four. * Japan on Friday is preparing to lift the state of emergency over COVID-19 for five prefectures where the situation has improved, although the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area will likely be kept under the emergency period for the time being, according to government sources. * The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Friday 2,651 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since Oct. 17 last year, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 571,327. * Leaders of the European Union (EU) called for an accelerated production and delivery of COVID-19 …
