NEW YORK -- U.S President Joe Biden's point man on Asia is "astonished" by China's determination to play the leading role on the global stage and will "step up" its engagement in Southeast Asia to hold back such a trend. But the administration does not support Taiwan independence and understands the sensitivities involved, Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said Tuesday.

Campbell's remarks at the Asia Society , are his first public comments since President Xi Jinping's July 1 speech celebrating the

PHNOM PENH -- A lion has been removed from a wildlife rescue sanctuary and returned to a luxurious villa in Phnom Penh after the intervention of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who also waived a $30,000 fine for the animal's Chinese owner.

The 18-month-old giant cat had been living in the backyard of the central city property until last month, when images of the 70-kg lion appeared on social media app TikTok and prompted a raid by authorities.

Working

TOKYO/BEIJING -- Longshore workers at an Indonesian port on the island of Sulawesi were busy unloading yellow excavators emblazoned with the logo of China's Sany Heavy Industry from a cargo ship.

"Be careful setting down that excavator!" one of them shouted to colleagues.

Roughly 600 Sany hydraulic excavators were shipped to Sulawesi in the first half of May alone, Chinese media report. The island hosts many nickel refineries, with an estimated 70% of them backed by Chinese capital. Nickel is a key

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics' operating profit surged 53% in the second quarter from a year ago, the company said Wednesday, as strong memory chip demand amid the coronavirus pandemic more than made up for falling smartphone sales.

The world's largest memory chipmaker released earnings guidance showing that operating profit increased to 12.5 trillion won ($11 billion) in the April-June period, up 53.4% from the previous year.

Samsung's revenue, meanwhile, jumped 18

HO CHI MINH CITY -- After taking home a special jury prize at Germany's Berlinale in May for "Taste," a film about a Nigerian footballer living in Vietnam, director Le Bao expected -- at the very least -- a warm welcome back in his home country.

Instead, Vietnamese authorities slapped him with an officious fine -- ostensibly for lack of a screening permit -- and there are currently no plans to release the film at all inside the country.

Last year, Tran Thanh Huy'

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics' operating profit surged 53% in the second quarter from a year ago, the company said Wednesday, as strong memory chip demand amid the coronavirus pandemic more than made up for falling smartphone sales.

The world's largest memory chipmaker released earnings guidance showing that operating profit increased to 12.5 trillion won ($11 billion) in the April-June period, up 53.4% from the previous year.

Samsung's revenue, meanwhile, jumped 18

HONG KONG -- China's economy is expected to expand by 7.7% in the April-June quarter, boosted by strong exports, according to a survey of 29 economists conducted by Nikkei and Nikkei Quick News.

Although that forecast is lower than the 18.3% recorded in the January-March period (which was, in part, boosted by a low year-ago comparison base), economists generally believe that the growth momentum in the Chinese economy will continue.

Growth estimates for the

TOKYO -- Japanese financial group SBI Holdings has taken a stake in Singapore-based fintech startup AND Global, which provides microloans in Mongolia via its smartphone app.

SBI took part in the startup's $15.3 million private placement round through an investment unit in Singapore.

AND Global calculates borrowers' creditworthiness using artificial intelligence so it can offer small-scale, unsecured lending starting at just tens of dollars. The Japanese group will help AND Global extend its services to Cambodia, where the startup will partner with

NEW YORK -- The Biden administration will "step up our game substantially" with regards to Southeast Asia diplomacy, understanding that engagement with that region is key to successful Indo-Pacific policy, Kurt Campbell, the Indo-Pacific coordinator at the U.S. National Security Council, said Tuesday.

"We recognize fully that really for an effective Asia strategy, for an effective Indo-Pacific approach, you must do more in Southeast Asia," Campbell said in a morning webinar appearance at the Asia Society.

The