Visit to strengthen relations

TODAY is the start of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s visit to China not only as the incumbent prime minister of a friendly neighbouring country but also as a well-respected and long-time friend of the Chinese people.

I guess it is safe to say that both Chinese and Malaysian citizens are paying a lot of attention to this visit and maybe even have some expectations. The visit would enhance political trust which underpins the cooperation between China and Malaysia.

As the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, I do have a lot of expectations. Dr Mahathir will hold talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. This will be the first time our top leaders are meeting since Pakatan Harapan formed the new government of Malaysia after the May 9 general election.

But Dr Mahathir is no stranger to China. His first tenure as prime minister (1981 to 2003) covered exactly half of the 44 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia, and he visited China seven times.

His important contributions laid a solid foundation for the comprehensive and profound bilateral relations we are enjoying today.

I am confident that this time around, he will again seek ways to further strengthen and enhance relations with Chinese leaders and iron out a new blueprint for the two countries’ future cooperation.

Our two nations share similar aspirations and objectives to ensure lasting peace and stability both domestically and internationally. Dr Mahathir’s visit is a chance for China and Malaysia to show to the world that we value our bilateral relations and respect each other’s core interests and major concerns.

We may not see eye to eye on every issue but we are committed to resolving the differences or settling the issues through sincere and friendly dialogues in the manner of friends or brothers. This is the key to enhancing mutual understanding and building a relationship based on respect, trust and beneficial cooperation that could serve as a good example of bilateral relations to other countries.

After years of progress, there is a high level of economic inter-dependence between China and Malaysia. China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, the largest investor in Malaysia’s manufacturing industry for two consecutive years and the largest source country of foreign tourists to Malaysia for six consecutive years. Yet we still have a huge potential to tap into.

The Belt and Road Initiative has more to offer Malaysia as well. During this visit, leaders of the two countries are expected to reach consensus on many areas of cooperation and to witness the signing of a number of MOUs and agreements. These will enable Malaysia and China to further synchronise their development strategies, take mutually-beneficial cooperation to a new level, and reap the fruits of growth in multiple areas, including trade, investments, agriculture, digital economy, advanced technology and tourism.

China always regards Malaysia as a priority partner in investment and cooperation. We encourage creditworthy and best-performing Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia. Concurrently, as I am aware, there is talk about a few other mega Chinese FDI coming to Malaysia.

China construction Bank (Malaysia) has purchased RM200mil from the local bond market. In Johor, D&Y, a private spinning company from Shandong province, launched its Phase II – 118 Thousand Spinning Factory Project recently. When the third phase factory goes into production, hopefully within this year, D&Y’s total investment in Malaysia will reach US$400mil, creating over 2,000 jobs for the local people.

Furthermore, two world-famous Chinese business tycoons – Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, and Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Group – respectively called on Dr Mahathir last month. Encouraged by the Prime Minister, they have decided to beef up their investments in Malaysia.

These developments fully reflect the confidence of the Chinese business community in the economic prospects of Malaysia and the China-Malaysia cooperation. I expect more Chinese companies, after this visit, will come to invest in Malaysia and carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, create more job opportunities, offer technology transfer and bring about more benefits to the Malaysian people.

The visit would also strengthen the time-honoured and profound friendship between our two peoples. Having served for eight months as the Chinese Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, I am deeply touched by the friendship shown by Malaysians to China. This friendship dates back to ancient times and has been deeply rooted in our psyche.

Thanks to the commitment and support of people from the wider communities of these two countries, China-Malaysia relations have grown closer in recent years. I expect that during this visit, both sides will come up with more ideas to enhance people-to-people exchange in the field of culture, youth, media, think tank, tourism, sports and education to ensure our friendship will span across the generations.

In China, the new government took office in March after the 19th National Congress Party of the Communist Party of China, marking the beginning of a new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics. Here in Malaysia, after May 9, people witnessed the first ever change of government since the country’s independence.

Both countries are standing on the threshold of a new era. With hard work and cooperation, we can all look forward to a better, brighter future.

The Chinese government is ready to work with the new government of Malaysia to build a stronger relationship based on shared interests for our mutual benefit. I am fully confident that there will be a fruitful visit awaiting Dr Mahathir in China.

Let us embrace change, seize new opportunities and build on new grounds in order to open up new prospects for the future.

BAI TIAN Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia