ACC Secretary-General Paid Courtesy Call on Malaysian Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry

On 14 October 2015, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) Secretary-General H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping paid courtesy call on Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia Y.B Dato' Lee Chee Leong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both sides exchanged views on ASEAN-China relations, Malaysia-China relations, Malaysia-China economic ties, etc.

Secretary-General Yang expressed that Malaysia was the first among ASEAN countries to forge diplomatic relations with China, and had played an important role in launching ASEAN-China dialogue process. She hailed the all-round stable development of bilateral ties, citing frequent exchange of high-level visits, strengthened political trust and all-dimensional cooperation in economy, tourism, education, finance and other areas. In 2014, the bilateral trade volume reached 102 billion USD. China remained Malaysia’s largest trade partner for 7 consecutive years, and Malaysia was China’s largest trade partner among ASEAN countries. The China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park set good examples of international economic cooperation. The joint communiqué at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China charted the future course of the development of bilateral relations.

Secretary-General Yang highlighted that ASEAN-China relations entered the new era of Diamond Decade, and were the most active and fruitful among ASEAN’s relations with dialogue partners. 2016 would mark the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, and China proposed to designate the year as the Year of ASEAN-China Educational Exchange. ASEAN-China relations enjoyed huge potential and broad prospects. Secretary-General Yang briefed on the work of ACC, citing over 70 projects completed and over 300 activities organized or participated by ACC since its inception. She pledged that ACC, bearing in mind the important consensus reached by leaders of ASEAN and China, was dedicated to promote functional cooperation in priority areas of trade, investment, education, culture and tourism. ACC was willing to work together with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) of Malaysia to deepen economic cooperation, help enterprises to explore cooperative projects and identify development opportunities, and elevate Malaysia-China economic ties to a higher level. Secretary-General Yang also introduced China’s economic development.

Deputy Minister Y.B Dato' Lee Chee Leong commended ACC’s efforts to enhance functional cooperation between Malaysia and China, and between ASEAN and China. He said that Malaysia and China, sharing geographic proximity and similar cultures, enjoyed advantages for cooperation. The world economic recovery was slow and China maintained robust growth. Malaysia attached great importance to its friendly cooperation with China. He expected the two countries, giving full play to the two industrial parks, would cement stronger economic ties and work toward the goal of bilateral trade volume of 160 billion USD by 2017. The Malaysian economy was expected to grow by 4.5-5.5 percent in 2015, and was an ideal destination for foreign investment. Malaysia welcomed more investment from China. The Malaysian MITI stood ready to work closely with ACC to further develop trade and economic cooperation between the two countries and contribute to a higher level of win-win cooperation for mutual benefit.