KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng hopes to receive some good news from China when he visits in July, adding that Malaysia is confident that they will purchase more palm oil.
During his speech at the celebration of the 45th anniversary of China and Malaysia’s diplomatic relationship, Lim said Malaysia faces a total deficit of RM44.1bil in its trade with China.
“In 2018, Malaysia exported goods worth RM138.9bil to China, while China exported to Malaysia RM174.9bil. Malaysia suffers a goods trade deficit of RM36bil,” he said.
In terms of services, he said Malaysia exported RM16.1bil to China while importing RM24.1bil from China, bringing the services trade deficit to RM8.1bil.
“We are confident that China is ready to buy more Malaysian goods such as palm oil, electronics, and durian to reduce the deficit of RM44.1bil,” he said.
“I hope that when I visit China next month, China will have some good news for us,” Lim added.
This will be Lim’s first diplomatic trip to China since becoming the Finance Minster.
Lim added that while Malaysia is a beneficiary of the US-China trade war with trade and investment from both countries redirecting to Malaysia, the benefit is merely short-term.
He said Malaysia is reassured that China does not seek to prolong a trade war.
“Malaysia endorses China’s position to seek an amicable solution based on mutual respect and mutual benefit to all parties,” he added.
Also at the celebration was China ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian and Deputy Secretary-General of Bilateral Affairs Datuk Nushirwan Zainal Abidin.
The celebration was hosted by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the China Enterprises Association in Malaysia (CENAM).
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