Former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Tee Keat.
KUALA LUMPUR: The deepening of Malaysia and China’s trade relations is crucial at this juncture amid the evolving global trade environment, says former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Tee Keat.
Ong, who is also the former Minister of Transport, said the cooperation between China and Asean countries under the China-Asean framework is already moving beyond traditional infrastructure to include hard connectivity, soft connectivity, and new connectivity in a three-dimensional stage.
“At this moment, what is important is how we continue to advance and look at the Belt and Road Initiative as we move on to the next phase, focusing on high quality development,” Ong said during a symposium on cooperation for the Belt and Road Initiative yesterday.
Ong highlighted the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement 3.0 (ACFTA 3.0) as part of the progression.
The conclusion of substantial negotiations for ACFTA 3.0 was announced last year, during the 27th Asean-China Summit. The agreement is expected to be signed next year.
ACFTA 3.0 will deepen cooperation in new areas, including the digital economy, green economy, supply-chain connectivity, competition and consumer protection, and micro, small, and medium enterprises.
“The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) framework will enable Malaysia’s large-scale processed commodity products, such as biodiesel, to leverage tariff advantages in the Asean markets, including China, Japan, and South Korea, enhancing competitiveness by 12% to 15%,” he said.
Ong said in terms of advancing institutional innovation in regional integration, the integration of the RCEP certificate of origin automatic issuance system and the Belt and Road digital trade platform will reduce the customs clearance time for Asean and Malaysian goods to six hours.
Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing said China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years and both sides continue to unleash new productive forces in areas such as digital economy, green development, artificial intelligence, and new energy.
“The two countries are also deepening exchanges and cooperation in areas such as culture, tourism, education, youth, media, and other fields, bringing more and more prosperity for the people of both nations,” he said.
Ouyang said Malaysia is one of the earliest countries to respond to and support the co-building of the Belt and Road Initiative.
“China and Malaysia are good neighbours separated by the sea, like-minded friends, and good partners in development.
“In 2023, China’s President Xi Jinping and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reached an important consensus on building a community with a shared future for China and Malaysia, which cleared the obstacles for the development of bilateral relations in the new era.
“In 2024, the two sides celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, marking it as the Year of China-Malaysia Friendship.
“High-level exchanges between the two countries have been frequent, and under the strategic leadership of the two countries’ leaders, cooperation in various fields has been progressing rapidly, with many highlights,” he said.
