Spotlight on China business NGO
Chinese business associations are quietly playing their role to promote Malaysia-China trade and investment activities.
DATUK Keith Li Zhongping, president of China Entrepreneurs Association in Malaysia (CEAM), may probably be the only Chinese national who has played golf with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The picture of him golfing with the Malaysian leader is proudly hung at the entrance to his office in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. And so is the photograph of Li receiving a datukship from the Pahang Sultan in September 2015.
A glimpse into the activities of CEAM and the background of Li explains why he is now an influential figure in Malaysia and China.
“We give advice to government groups in Malaysia before they visit China. Some of the world’s top 500 Chinese companies are our members,” says Li in an interview with Sunday Star.
Members of CEAM include the likes of China Telecom, China Machinery, Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), Kerui Petroleum and Xian Longi New Energy.
The organisation is the most active and high profile among the associations set up by China-linked companies to look after the interest of their members in Malaysia.
There are now more than 1,000 companies, in various fields, from China.
Since 2005, Li has been promoting China-Malaysia relations by introducing Chinese investments into this Asean country and featuring Malaysia as a tourist destination.
“I came here 20 years ago to set up a joint venture travel company, between me and the Chinese government. Since 2005, I have been promoting Malaysia to Chinese investors and tourists,” says Li, who is now a permanent resident here after marrying Malaysian Nicole Quah.
The GTC group of Companies, 70% owned by Li and 30% by the Chinese government, is said to be among the top few “quality” travel companies that is focused on bringing in tourists from the Middle Kingdom into Malaysia.
GTC is also the local travel agent for provincial state-owned tourism promotion centres in China. Among these are Nanjing, Ningsia, Shandong and Guanzhou.
The 47-year-old business leader says he wants the association to interact more with the Malay community from now on.
“In the past 40 years, Malaysia-China bilateral relations have improved a lot. However, we have not done much on cultural exchanges and communication with the Malay community, who forms the majority of the local multi-racial population. Our association has started to place focus on this.”
Last month, while accompanying a Chinese solar energy player to visit Perlis, CEAM gave talks on Malaysia-China bilateral ties, trade and investment opportunities to 1,000 mainly Malay university students there.
“Most major Chinese companies are state-owned and they do not need to care about public relations or do community service in China. But over here, we will have to help to promote Chinese companies to the Malaysian society. We will encourage our members to do more social work and get media coverage.”
Li believes there will be more Chinese investments coming to Malaysia but the new players will not be construction and infrastructure firms as the property market here is “quite matured”.
The next wave of investments from China is expected to be from technology, plantation and fishery sectors.
In fact, the Chinese have already invested in the plantation sector in Sabah and Sarawak without publicity about it. And potential players are looking at locations in Kelantan and Terengganu.
Another area that Chinese firms are keen on is the halal manufacturing sector in Malaysia, which is known for its halal certification globally.
“In two to three years, many Chinese firms will be making halal products here and export to other Asean nations and the Middle East. This is a win-win situation for Malaysia and China,” says Li, who is bilingual in Chinese and English.
Looking into the future, Li says CEAM will organise more events that could attract participation from all races. They have been organising painting and photography competitions, which are open to all.
“Our main goal now is to get our members to have more exchanges and communication with the local people, particularly the Malay society and the government bodies.”
On his personal business, Li wants to bring in more Chinese tourists into Malaysia.
“Twenty years ago when I set foot here, there were fewer than 200,000 Chinese tourists visiting this country but last year the figure swelled to three million. This year, we could see 3.5 million to four million coming.”
He foresees 1.2 million to 1.3 million Malaysians visiting China this year, compared to last year’s 1.1 million.
“Malaysia continues to be a favourite destination for Chinese tourists. The increase in direct flights to second- and third-line cities and higher flight frequency will bring more Chinese tourists here, and vice versa. Now, more Malays and Indians are visiting China.”