‘M’sian durians best in world’ – Chinese leader

QINZHOU (China): “Malaysia’s durians are the best in the world!,” said Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Qinzhou Committee, Wang Gebing, during a courtesy call by a Malaysian delegation led by Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek here yesterday.

Despite Malaysia still in the midst of getting approval by the Chinese Government to export fresh durians to China, especially the popular ‘Musang King’, Wang said the ‘king of fruits’ has always been loved by the Chinese, especially the people of Qinzhou, and that they looked forward to seeing a positive outcome from the ongoing negotiations.

Ahmad Shabery, who is in China in conjunction with the highly-anticipated Malaysian Durian Festival 2017 (MDF2017) in Guangxi, replied that the durian has always been a symbol of love and happiness in Malaysia, and that the Malaysian government decided to hold the festival to signify the sharing of happiness with the Chinese people.

“Last time (during an earlier visit in 2016) I asked everybody I met in China, do you like durian? I was surprised with such a positive response, which was why I proposed to do a durian festival here. Because, in Malaysia it is called the ‘king of fruits’, and it somehow symbolises love and happiness.

“This time, I brought along durian as well as the bird’s nest players to bring happiness and share things that we Malaysians like. Which is why we wanted to convey our gratitude on the warmth relationship with China by bringing this durian festival,” he told Qinzhou’s highest-ranked leader.

The minister, was accompanied by Malaysia’s Ambassador to China, Datuk Zainuddin Yahya; Malaysian Consul-General to Nanning, Bong Yik Jui; the ministry’s Deputy SecretaryGeneral, Datuk Mohd Sallehuddin Hassan and other senior officials.

During the meeting, both leaders also discussed about other possibilities of enhancing MalaysiaChina ties through Qinzhou, including strengthening the halal food industry in China, a research and development centre for herbal medicine, as well as trading marine products.

Speaking to the press afterwards, Ahmad Shabery said that he had conveyed his highest appreciation to the Chinese Government for being highly supportive towards Malaysia’s initiative to export fresh durians, as well as re-exporting raw bird’s nest, especially when CPC committee secretaries themselves agreed to meet him.

“This is a great meeting because in the context of China’s political system, normally leaders if from ministries or agencies will only meet government people. Originally I was scheduled to meet the governor (when in Guangxi province yesterday) but due to last minute changes I met the secretary for this province (Guangxi).