ARTICLE FOR GD TODAY – “50 YEARS OF MALAYSIA-CHINA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS, A PERSPECTIVE FROM GUANGZHOU”
BY SURAYA PAUZI, CONSUL GENERAL OF MALAYSIA TO GUANGZHOU
1. This 31 May 2024, Malaysia will celebrate 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations with China. The Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou was the seventh diplomatic mission to open in this city back in 1993.
2. Seeing the promise of Guangzhou, the Consulate General of Malaysia was tasked to focus on strengthening relations, expanding trade and investment, and promoting people to people links by way of education, cultural exchanges and tourism in southern China.
3. Indeed, Malaysia-China relations has come a long way. A few days ago, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, The Honourable Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi visited Shenzhen as part of his Official Visit to China at the invitation of Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang. During his visit, he said that China has always been a good and sincere friend to Malaysia. Among others, Huawei entered into an agreement with Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL) to carry out systematic training of Malaysians in TVET to suit the demands of the industry, helping Malaysia to scale up its human resources capabilities.
4. Besides this high-level visit, numerous Malaysian State Chief Ministers and cabinet members have undertaken visits to Guangdong in this year, with a focus on trade and investment. During their time here, they have also held meetings with local leaders including the Party Secretary of Guangzhou and Party Secretary of Shenzhen which contributes towards the strengthening of relations.
5. China has remained Malaysia’s top trading partner for 15 straight years since 2009. Malaysia’s total trade with China in 2023 amounted to RMB680 billion, thus making up 17.1 per cent of our total trade with the entire world. Total trade between Malaysia and Guangdong accounts for just under half that amount.
6. To further enhance trade relations, Malaysia will actively participate in several key trade events in Guangdong including the Canton Fair and the China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF) in Guangzhou. In addition, Malaysia through the Consulate’s trade section is expected to host many Guangdong companies that will participate in Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) and Malaysia China Summit (MCS) later this year. These initiatives are part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.
7. In 2022, China was Malaysia’s largest investor with 91 projects with an investment value of about RMB100 billion. Chinese investments are largely in the manufacturing sector such as Electrical & Electronics (E&E), Medical Devices & Pharmaceutical, New Energy Vehicle (NEV) and Chemical & Advanced Materials industry as well as services sector such as Digital Investments (Data Centre), Green Technology and Global/Regional Services Hub.
8. Major Chinese companies Huawei and Bytedance also count as among Malaysia’s major investors. Most recently, Guangdong-based EV battery company, EVE Energy Co., Ltd. has made investments in Malaysia amounting to RMB8 billion. These vibrant investment relations is thanks to our Government’s favourable investment policies and the consistent efforts of the consulate’s investment section.
9. Meanwhile, Malaysia in turn has also long invested in Guangdong. Malaysian ‘aluminium extrusion and fabrication company,’ PMI, has been operating in Foshan since 2005 and has current plans to expand a further 20 per cent. The company is also planning to list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the first Malaysian company and first ASEAN company to do so in mainland China. This is in no small part to the close relations between Malaysia and China that enables each other’s business to flourish.
10. Besides Malaysian SMEs, there are also major Malaysian companies operating and investing in Guangdong such Maybank, Sime Darby, Perfect China, Shangri-La Hotel and the low-cost carrier Air Asia whose headquarters in China is based in Guangzhou.
11. Meanwhile, both Malaysia and China lifted the visa requirements to allow for each other’s citizens to travel to each other’s countries for purpose of tourism late last year. Since then, there has been a marked increase of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia and vice versa. Our figures from January to March show that some 760,000 Chinese tourists visited Malaysia during that time, indicating an increase of 90 per cent compared to the previous year. Flights between Southern China and Malaysia have also returned to pre-pandemic levels with additional sectors being added.
12. Since the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions, there has been a steadily increasing number of Malaysian students studying in Guangdong. Currently there are over 500 Malaysian students studying in universities across Guangdong with some 100 of them graduating this summer.
13. Malaysia-China relations is also not limited to its bilateral links. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, the RCEP and ASEAN-China platform, the partnership only continues to grow stronger.
14. The celebration of 50 years of diplomatic bilateral relations is an opportunity to renew our commitment and friendship to each other. The Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou is determined to play its part to further relations in all areas.
文章：纪念马中建交50周年——广州视角
作者：马来西亚驻广州总领事 苏拉雅·包兹
- 2024年5月31日，马来西亚将庆祝与中国建交50周年。马来西亚驻广州总领事馆是1993年在广州开设的第七个外交使团。
- 作为一座充满希望的城市，马来西亚驻广州总领事馆肩负着加强双边关系、扩大贸易和投资，并通过教育、文化交流和旅游促进两国民众联系的任务。
- 马中关系的确走过了漫长的历程。几天前，应中国国务院副总理丁薛祥的邀请，马来西亚副总理阿末扎希·哈米迪阁下正式访问深圳。他表示，中国一直是马来西亚的好朋友。访问期间，华为与吉隆坡大学（UNIKL）签署协议，系统地为马来西亚人提供符合行业需求的技术与职业教育培训（TVET），帮助马来西亚提升人力资源能力。
- 除了这次高层访问，今年已有多位马来西亚州首席部长及内阁成员访问广东，重点聚焦贸易和投资。他们还与包括广州市委书记和深圳市委书记在内的地方领导人会晤，为加强双方关系做出贡献。
- 自2009年以来，中国已连续15年成为马来西亚的最大贸易伙伴。2023年，马来西亚与中国的贸易总额达到6800亿人民币，占马来西亚全球贸易总额的17.1％。其中，马来西亚与广东的贸易额占据了接近一半的份额。
- 为进一步增强贸易关系，马来西亚将积极参与广东的多个重要贸易活动，包括广交会和广州的中国国际中小企业博览会（CISMEF）。此外，通过总领馆的贸易部门，马来西亚预计还将接待许多前往马来西亚国际清真产品展（MIHAS）和马中峰会（MCS）的广东企业，这些都是50周年庆典的一部分。
- 在2022年，中国是马来西亚最大的投资国，共有91个项目，投资总额约1000亿人民币。中国的投资主要集中在制造业，如电子电气（E&E）、医疗器械与制药、新能源汽车（NEV）及化学和先进材料行业，以及数据中心、绿色技术和全球/区域服务中心等服务行业。
- 华为和字节跳动等中国主要公司也是马来西亚的重要投资者。最近，总部位于广东的电动汽车电池公司亿纬锂能公司在马来西亚投资达80亿人民币。这种充满活力的投资关系得益于马来西亚政府的有利投资政策以及总领馆投资部门的不断努力。
- 同时，马来西亚也长期在广东投资。马来西亚铝挤压与制造公司PMI自2005年起在佛山运营，并计划进一步扩展20％。该公司计划在深圳证券交易所上市，将成为首家在中国内地上市的马来西亚公司和东盟公司。这离不开马中两国的密切关系，促进了彼此业务的蓬勃发展。
- 除了中小企业，马来西亚的一些主要公司也在广东运营和投资，如马来亚银行、森那美、完美中国、香格里拉酒店及总部位于广州的低成本航空公司亚航。
- 此外，马来西亚和中国去年末取消了对彼此游客的签证要求，允许双方公民以旅游目的互访。自此以来，中国游客访问马来西亚的数量显著增加，反之亦然。今年1月至3月的数据显示，共有约76万中国游客访问马来西亚，同比增长90％。南中国和马来西亚之间的航班也恢复到疫情前的水平，并增加了更多航班。
- 自COVID-19限制解除以来，前往广东学习的马来西亚学生人数稳步增加。目前有500多名马来西亚学生在广东各大学学习，其中约100名学生将在今年夏季毕业。
- 马中关系不仅限于双边关系。在“一带一路”倡议、《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》（RCEP）和东盟-中国合作平台的框架下，两国的伙伴关系继续加强。
- 庆祝建交50周年是我们重新承诺并加深友谊的机会。马来西亚驻广州总领事馆将不遗余力，继续推动各领域关系的发展。
来源: 马来西亚驻广州总领事馆
Ire-Tex Industrial Park 爱德工业园区发展集团 