‘Belt and Road project will lead to FTAs’

China aims to assist poor countries to reap future benefits, explains Ong

KUALA LUMPUR: Even though it is not a legally binding agreement, China’s Belt and Road initiative is expected to be followed by the signing of free trade agreements (FTA), says International Trade and Industry Minister II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.

He pointed out that many were questioning why China is attempting to forge ties with some 60 countries via the initiative, with the bulk of them being poor countries.

“It is akin to a woman who intends to marry a poor man. She lends him money so that he can stand on his own feet before marrying him.

“This is exactly what China is doing. They are helping poor countries by assisting them in building infrastructure. When they are rich, China will thus sign FTAs with them,” he said during an e-commerce seminar held at Wisma MCA yesterday.

Ong said Malaysia has always been on board with the initiative since its conception in 2013, adding that it will not be left out when the time comes to sign FTAs.

“When the time comes, we will be able to export to 64 nations comprising a population of more than 4.4 billion. This is what I want to tell everyone,” he said.

Ong added that Malaysia’s trade amounted to RM1.49 trillion in 2016, making it one of the best performing economies in the Asean region.

As such, he advised businesses present to adopt e-commerce as quickly as possible as it will allow them to further expand their market.

He pointed out that the sale of White Coffee, a product of Malaysia, to China via online channels had reached RM25.3bil as at last year to justify his point on the importance of e-commerce.

“This is something we can’t ignore anymore. We have to face it. That is why the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak)

It is akin to a woman who intends to marry a poor man. Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan

will be announcing a digital free-trade zone for Malaysia.

“The policy will be announced next week on March 22 when (Alibaba founder) Jack Ma is in Malaysia,” he said.

The seminar also saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation of Malaysia Chinese Guilds and Association and the Alibaba Business College to train more businesses in Malaysia to carry out e-commerce.