On 23 October 2018, Mme. Datuk Bahria binti Mohd Tamil, Senior Director of Bilateral Economic and Trade Relations Division of Ministry of Trade and Industry of Malaysia (MITI), met with the delegation of “Chinese Media Reporting Trip to ASEAN” headed by Secretary-General Chen Dehai of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), and exchanged views on expanding economic and trade cooperation between Malaysia and China and between ASEAN and China. Mme. Bahria Tamil also gave a joint interview to the media delegation. Mr. Unny Sankar, Director of BRI National Secretariat Malaysia, and Mr. Wang Zhiquan, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations Division of ACC, were present at the meeting.
Secretary-General Chen Dehai spoke highly of the development of ASEAN-China strategic partnership and the friendly relations of cooperation between Malaysia and China. He hoped that the reporting trip could help promote the business environment of Malaysia, raise the awareness of cooperation among the people of China and ASEAN countries, and promote two-way investment and trade development.
Mme. Bahria Tamil welcomed the Chinese media delegation and applaused the efforts of ACC to promote Malaysia-China and ASEAN-China economic and trade cooperation. She briefed on the development of bilateral trade between Malaysia and China, and said that the Malaysian side welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia and keenly supports the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which she believed would be conducive to regional development and prosperity.
The media delegation had an animated interaction with the Malaysian side on the development of Malaysia-China economic and trade relations, the positive impact of the BRI on trade and investment between the two sides, opportunities brought to Malaysian enterprises by China’s opening policy as well as challenges to be addressed.
The media reporting trip is one of the annual flagship projects of ACC. This year’s trip comprises Chinese journalists from People’s Daily Online, Xinhuanet, China Report, Sina, Global Times Online, the 21st Century Business Herald, Chongqing and the World, and Anhui Broadcasting and TV Station. The previous trips took place in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.