China’s new ambassador set to deepen bilateral ties with Malaysia
Ouyang Yujing has not wasted any time or let the restrictions of the Movement Control Order deter him from carrying out his duty as China’s new ambassador to Malaysia.
Despite the compulsory 14-day quarantine upon arriving in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 20 last year, he had put the time in isolation to good use — learning more about Malaysia.
He was also quick to arrange and meet with government officials, business and trade leaders, associations and community leaders alike, albeit virtually.
In an interview with Bernama recently, the ambassador-designate said he hoped the situation would soon be back to normal, as he was eager to meet and engage with Malaysians face-to-face, and work to deepen and elevate Malaysia-China bilateral relations to the next level.
He said as good friends and partners, opportunities abound for the two nations to strengthen their relations, especially in the post-Covid-19 era.
The ambassador said his top priority was to ensure China and Malaysia could work together to defeat and overcome the pandemic as soon as possible.
He said both countries had been working closely since the outbreak last year to combat the pandemic and revitalise the economy.
Ouyang said he also hoped to focus on supporting and promoting communication between China and Malaysia in all areas, including governments, parliaments, political parties, academics, media and the youth.
Elaborating further, he said: “People-topeople friendship also holds the key to state-to-state relations, and heart-to-heart communication contributes to deeper friendship.”
Citing tourism as an example, he said Malaysia was the second-largest country getting Chinese visa approval, while China was the thirdlargest source of foreign tourists to Malaysia, after Singapore and Indonesia, and also the largest source of foreign tourists to Malaysia besides Asean countries.
“In the face of the new normal, we have actively explored new approaches, continued to maintain the enthusiasm and a wider scope of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries,” he said.
The ambassador added in the coming days, he and the embassy would continue to work together with Malaysia’s government and friends from all walks of life, to jointly hold more activities and talk on diverse topics.
“The pandemic has affected our face-to-face social and cultural exchanges, but it can never prevent us from connecting with each other and developing our deep friendship.”
Malaysia established diplomatic ties with China in 1974, becoming the first country in Asean to do so. Since then, both countries had forged a close relationship and building a partnership of mutual interests in various areas.