Malaysian Ambassador to China Gave a Lecture in Northwest Normal University of China

On 5 May 2016, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) organized ASEAN Ambassadors’ Lecture Series in Northwest Normal University (NNU). H.E. Dato’ Zainuddin Bin Yahya, Ambassador of Malaysia to China, delivered a keynote lecture on Malaysia-China and ASEAN-China Cooperation. H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ACC, Mr. Liu Fuxing, Vice-President of NNU, Mr. Liu Hong, Deputy Director-General of Gansu Provincial Department of Education, Mr. Lu Xinglai, Deputy Director-General of Gansu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, students from NNU, Gansu Agricultural University, Gansu Political Science and Law Institute, Lanzhou City College and Lanzhou Jiaotong University, and local journalists attended the Lecture.

Mr. Liu Hong said in his remarks that there were about 180 ASEAN students, including 17 Malaysian students, in Gansu Province. He hoped that the Lecture Series would help promote cooperation between universities of Malaysia and Gansu Province in scientific research, student exchange for mutual benefit.

Secretary-General Yang Xiuping said the all-dimensional, multi-tiered and wide-ranging cooperation between China and Malaysia had borne rich fruits over the years. In 2015 the ASEAN-China trade volume reached 472 billion USD. Mutual investment reached 156 billion USD, and the personnel exchange hit the all-time high with over 23 million, with over 190,000 students studying in each other’s countries. Malaysia and China enjoyed good relations, which were built upon the solid foundation of regular high-level exchange, robust economic cooperation and close people-to-people ties. ASEAN Ambassadors’ Lecture Series aimed to boost public awareness about ASEAN Member States among the young people. This was the first time that the lecture was delivered  outside Beijing.

Ambassador Zainuddin said that since Malaysia and China established diplomatic relations more than 40 years ago, the foundation of the bilateral relations laid by the leaders of the two countries were currently in the best shape in history.

In the field of economic cooperation, China had always been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009. Malaysia was China’s largest trading partner among ASEAN countries. Both countries had set the target for  the bilateral volume to attain USD160 billion by the year of 2017.

In the field of educational cooperation, Malaysia ranked as the world’s 11th most preferred study destination by UNESCO. There were more than 10,000 Chinese students pursuing their higher education in Malaysia, and there were more than 6,000 Malaysian students vice versa. Malaysia hoped to see even more Chinese students coming to Malaysia.

In the field of tourism, the Government of Malaysia had taken positive measures to make it easier for Chinese tourists to travel to Malaysia. The Chinese tourists could now enjoy visa-free visits within 15 days of visit.

Malaysia was supportive of the Belt and Road Initiative. A number of projects had been jointly launched by the two governments, such as Kuantan Industrial Park and Qinzhou Industrial Park. Malaysia was one of the founding members of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He took an upbeat stance to the future of Malaysia-China relations. 

Ambassador Zainuddin noted that China was one of the most important and active dialogue partners of ASEAN. The establishment of ASEAN Community would facilitate a deeper and wider regional integration, higher standards of living, and make ASEAN more competitive. Malaysia was willing to work with China and other ASEAN countries to push ASEAN-China relations forward. 

At Q and A session in a warm atmosphere, the students raised many questions to the Ambassador on cooperation between Gansu and Malaysia, the cultural similarities and differences between two countries, educational exchange, the ASEAN-China Year of Educational Exchange, etc. Ambassador Zainuddin added that it was his first time to visit Gansu and had a better knowledge of the existing joint projects between Malasia and China and the great potential in bilateral cooperation. Malaysia was willing to expand cooperation with Gansu in halal food production, higher education and tourism. China was the biggest outbound tourism country in the world. He welcomed Chinese tourists to visit Malaysia for a better understanding of its people, culture, tradition and business environment, so as to promote heart-to-heart communication.