PETALING JAYA: “We must build bridges, not walls,” Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC) chairman Tan Sri Low Kian Chuan told ministers and business leaders from across the Asean region at China’s 4th International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing.
During his address at the Asean Supply Chain Cooperation Exchange Meeting held alongside CISCE, Low said that three key gaps were holding the region back: low intra-Asean trade at around 20% compared to the European Union’s 60%, hidden non-tariff barriers, and uneven levels of development among member states.
However, he emphasised that solutions to such obstacles are already within reach, citing examples like the upgraded Asean-China Free Trade Area, the Guangxi land-sea corridor which handled 1.4 million containers in 2025, and a strategy that pairs Chinese technology with Asean manufacturing and global markets.
“Malaysia stands ready to work with all partners to turn the region’s supply-chain potential into shared and lasting prosperity,” Low added.
The meeting, themed “Deepen Cooperation through Opening-up; Accelerate Regional Industrial and Supply Chain Integration across Asean”, was held on the sidelines of the 4th CISCE, the world’s first national-level exhibition dedicated to supply-chain cooperation, and the focus of MCBC’s two-day visit to the Chinese capital.
Opened by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) chairman Ren Hongbin, the meeting was attended by senior figures such as Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaithong Kommasith, Indonesian Deputy Minister of National Development Planning Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, Philippine Department of Trade and Industry under-secretary Ceferino S Rodolfo, Thailand Board of Investment secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry deputy president Lee Kheng Hui, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region vice-chairman Lu Xinning.
On June 22, a delegation led by MCBC attended the expo’s opening ceremony and toured exhibitions spanning areas such as advanced manufacturing, digital, clean-energy, and connectivity supply chains.
The council also took part in the expo’s welcoming banquet, hosted by CCPIT the previous evening.
The delegation’s programme opened on June 21 at the Apec China CEO Forum 2026, themed “Openness, Connectivity, Synergy: Linking the Asia-Pacific for a Shared Future”, gathering members of the Apec Business Advisory Council and global chief executives across sessions on the free trade area of the Asia-Pacific, regional connectivity and digital-driven growth.
MCBC said the Beijing engagements reflect the council’s role in linking Malaysian industry with the increasingly integrated supply chains of China and the wider Asia-Pacific.
