A Chinese State Council official recently met with Russian officials to discuss “a number of pragmatic cooperation agreements” in several areas, including trade, agriculture and technology, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said during a Sept. 12 press conference, according to an unofficial translation of a transcript of the event. The two sides also agreed to create a “Northeast-Far East Business Council” and plan to hold the first meeting this year, the spokesman said. China said its goal is “expanding and strengthening traditional trade” with Russia, and to “accelerate the negotiation of economic and trade system arrangements.”

China issued guidance for its free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the rules of origin for imports and exports, according to a Sept. 11 KPMG alert.

China criticized comments from Australia’s former prime minister about Huawei after he suggested Britain follow the U.S. and Australia's lead and also ban products of the Chinese tech giant. The comments were “a blatant discrimination against Chinese companies,” a China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said during a Sept. 12 press conference, according to a transcript in English provided by the Chinese Embassy in Washington. “Australia has also been lecturing other countries about the 5G network and encouraging them to follow suit. Such disgraceful and immoral conduct is against basic market principles and international rules, which China firmly opposes.”

South Korea’s antidumping duties on Japanese valves are a violation of international trade rules, the World Trade Organization said in a Sept. 10 decision. The WTO ordered South Korea to change the duties on “pneumatic transmission” valves to bring them into “conformity” with WTO obligations. The decision upheld a previous ruling made by the WTO in 2018 that determined South Korea’s antidumping measures violate WTO rules.

Singapore Customs arrested three men for being involved in a scheme to evade import tariffs on more than 3,400 cartons of cigarettes, Singapore said in a Sept. 11 press release. The men had hidden the cigarettes inside 10 “large spools of cable wires” and kept them in a warehouse, the notice said. The men planned to place the cigarettes in “canvas bags for delivery to other parts of Singapore,” the press release said, and avoided more than $300,000 (in Singapore dollars) in duties and taxes. The men face a maximum fine of up to 40 times the amount of unpaid taxes and a maximum six-year prison sentence.

Singapore will soon require applications for a Certificate of Non-Manipulation (CNM) to be made through the International Connectivity (IC) CNM Service on Singapore’s Networked Trade Platform (NTP), Singapore Customs said in a Sept. 9 notice. The notice also contains information on how NTP account holders and non-account holders apply for a CNM and how the revised procedures may affect traders. The notice also contains a set of Frequently Asked Questions about the CNM and Singapore’s online trade platform. The changes will take effect Sept. 16, with a one-month transition period ending Oct. 15.

China’s six new pilot free-trade zones will increase trade and market access for foreign countries and companies, minimizing strain caused by its trade war with the U.S., according to a Sept. 10 post from Dezan Shira & Associates.

Vietnam plans to revise regulations to loosen restrictions on certain auto imports to help its domestic car industry, according to a Sept. 9 report from Vietnam Customs’ mouthpiece CustomsNews. The revised regulations may change when certain car imports are inspected to help “improve quality and lower production costs to increase competitiveness,” the report said. Vietnam is also considering lowering import tariff rates on car parts and not applying a “special consumption tax for automobiles which are locally-produced,” in an effort to lower prices of domestic vehicles and increase competitive pricing, the report said.

South Korea is planning to officially remove Japan from its list of trusted trading partners next week, according to a Sept. 9 report from Yonhap News Agency. A South Korean trade official told reporters the country plans to make the announcement next week “after going through reviews,” according to the report. South Korea recently criticized Japan’s August decision to increase export controls on South Korea, calling for an “immediate withdrawal” of the restrictions (see 1908290045).

Vietnam continues efforts to crack down on the country of origin fraud and transshipment schemes that have become especially more frequent since the ramping up of U.S.-China trade tensions, according to reports in CustomsNews, the self-described “mouthpiece” of Vietnam Customs.