Malaysia to gain major investments from PM’s visit to China
29 Mar 2023
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to China, which begins today, is expected to result in considerable investments flowing to Malaysia.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the Chinese government under the leadership of President Xi Jinping is keen on fostering closer relations with the unity government.
“I cannot state (the value of investments the country is getting). But I can reveal that the expected (figure) will be high. Let the prime minister announce it himself. Let it be a statement issued by him based on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will be signed later.
“There will be two forms of MoUs; one related to trade and the other in the form of an understanding between governments such as cooperation in the agriculture field, between ministries as well as departments and ministries here,” he told a press conference here last night.
“There will be two forms of MoUs. One is related to trade and the other is in the form of an understanding between governments, such as cooperation in agriculture, between ministries as well as departments and ministries here,” he told a press conference here last night.
He added that China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009. Trade between the two countries last year represented 17.1 per cent of Malaysia’s global trade worth RM2.8 trillion.
“The total trade between Malaysia and China in 2022 was RM487.13 billion, which is a 15.6 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2021.
“Exports to China increased by 9.4 per cent to RM210.62 billion. Imports increased by 20.7 per cent to RM276.50 billion compared with the previous year.
“Investments from China worth RM9.6 billion created job opportunities for 6,193 people last year,” said Zambry.
Anwar will discuss tourist visas, bilateral trade, security and regional security issues in meetings with Chinese leaders, said Zambry.
He said efforts are being made to build a new understanding between China and the unity government.
“In the context of our relationship with China, it is comprehensive. So any issue involving relations that can be streamlined will be looked into. This includes the need to boost tourism in both countries and to restore the movement of Malaysia tourists to China.
“It is important to build a new understanding in terms of creating a common environment, and that is how Malaysia and China can create mutual prosperity under the ‘Community of Shared Future for Mankind’ concept presented by President Xi Jinping. In the context of Malaysia, it is about ‘Malaysia Madani’,” he said.
Source: NST
