Malaysia is vibrant and stable, says China’s envoy
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy is vibrant and stable, with sufficient foreign currency reserve, said Chinese Ambassador Bai Tian.
The increasingly stronger ringgit and a 14.8% growth of foreign trade in 2017, he said, had resulted in different international finance agencies adjusting the forecast of Malaysia’s growth rate as China believed in its potential.
“I am confident both countries’ economies will inject strong impetus to push ChinaMalaysia relations to (another) pinnacle,” Bai said at a ceremony to honour his appointment as China’s Ambassador to Malaysia on Thursday.
“Our relations have reached all-time high. Leaders of both countries regard our relations as one of the highest priority in their diplomatic agenda,” said Bai.
On tourism, he said over two million Chinese tourists travelled to Malaysia annually, bringing with them local consumption of over 4,000 yuan (RM2,476) per capita.
He added that he visited The Exchange 106, which will Malaysia’s tallest building with 106 storeys at Tun Razak Exchange. The Exchange 106 was contracted to a Chinese company a few days ago.
“Up to 54% of materials supply and 40% of administrative staff are from Malaysia,” Bai said.
“Such cooperation has advanced (con- struction) techniques and brought about job opportunities. Malaysian companies in China have also contributed to China’s economic growth, he said.
On China’s growth, Bai said that China’s GDP in 2017 was 2.5 times bigger than Japan’s.
“The gap between China and the biggest economy of the United States with a GDP of US$19 trillion (RM73.83 trillion ) has been further narrowed.
“Thus, China’s role as the engineer and contributor of world economy has been further enhanced,” he said.