Xiamen University Malaysia another milestone in China-Malaysia ties

SEPANG: The establishment of Xiamen University Malaysia campus, China's first university set up abroad, is another milestone in strengthening education cooperation between China and Malaysia, said Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Huang Huikang.

He said the still underconstruction Xiamen University Malaysia campus, with an estimated cost of RM1.3 billion, was an iconic project and symbol for education cooperation between the two countries.

Citing it as an example of China's One Belt, One Road initiative in Malaysia, Huang said the Chinese government was strongly supporting the project.

"We spare no effort to help the Malaysia campus to be a world class institution," he told reporters after presenting scholarships to 10 outstanding Malaysian students at the university yesterday.

Xiamen University Malaysia campus was mooted during a meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in 2012.

A pioneer group of 187 students started their studies at the Xiamen University Malaysia campus in Sepang on Feb 23 last year.

Xiamen University, listed as among the top 20 academic institutions in China, was founded by Malaysian rubber magnate Tan Kah Kee in 1921.

On the 2016 Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Award, Huang said the scholarship, established by China's Embassy in Malaysia, was the first scholarship scheme of its kind offered by the embassy to the students of Malaysia.

Each outstanding student will receive RM12,000 scholarship. The embassy has set aside an annual budget of RM120,000 for the programme.

"We will continue to provide scholarships to students in future," he said.

Meanwhile, Huang said Malaysia and China ties were at its best and Malaysia was a "good neighbour, good friend and good partner" to China.