KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — China’s President Xi-Jinping attaches great importance to China-Malaysia relations by meeting Malaysian leaders many times over the years, said its Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.
The bilateral relationship between the two countries has been elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership following Xi’s visit to Malaysia in 2013, he said.
In his letter published in The Star newspaper today, Yujing said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin held a video conference several days ago during which they reached consensus on a wide range of issues of common concern both on regional and international fronts.
In combating the Covid-19 pandemic, China considered Malaysia a priority in vaccine mattters and has cooperated comprehensively with the Malaysian side on vaccine procurement, research and development (R&D) and production.
In 2020, bilateral trade volume and China’s investment in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector grew by 4.2% and10.3% respectively while Malaysia’s exports to China witnessed a historical high.
China remains Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years and the largest source of foreign direct investment in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector for five consecutive years.
The ambassador also made several suggestions in the post-pandemic era for both countries to boost ties, including in enhancing anti-pandemic cooperation.
“We should promote cooperation on healthcare, medicine, vaccine R&D and other areas to achieve an early victory against the virus and a rapid recovery of economy and society,” Yujing said.
Secondly, China and Malaysia should strengthen the synergies of their development strategies, promote high quality cooperation and steadily advance cooperation on major projects.
” We should nurture new growth areas for digital economic cooperation and tap into the potential of cooperating in areas such as 5G, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, smart cities and cross border e-commerce to foster new growth drivers.
” We should enhance communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, promote world peace and stability and play an active role in building a community with a shared future for mankind,” he added.
As Yujing put it: “The wind is blowing and the sail is lifting. Let us work together to navigate the giant vessel of China-Malaysia friendship through the waves and forge ahead towards an ever brighter future”.
