Great innovation: Ahmad Masrizal talking to Ouyang (left) while visiting a booth at the Malaysia-China Digital Economy Forum 2022. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: China and Malaysia should speed up implementation of their memorandum of understanding (MOU) on digital telecommunication cooperation, says China’s top diplomat here.
“China and Malaysia should take more effort in implementing the high-level agreements and reinforce the top-level design in our digital cooperation,” said China’s Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.
“The two sides should promote digital economy cooperation in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Digital Silk Road to achieve optimum results,” he said in his speech at the Malaysia-China Digital Economy Forum 2022 here yesterday.
He said this includes the sharing of experiences in the relevant digital sectors while speeding up the process of implementing the MOU on digital telecommunications cooperation.
“We need to further strengthen the digital free trade zone located in Malaysia and expand its influence to the whole of Asean and make it an exemplary model of the Digital Silk Road in the region,” he added.
Ouyang lauded Malaysia’s digitalisation level as among the highest in the South-East Asian region.
“Malaysia’s Internet economy amounted to over RM97.6bil in 2021.
“Based on statistics, Malaysia’s digital economy accounted for 22.6% of its 2020 GDP (gross domestic product) output.
“It is expected to reach 25.5% in 2025,” he said.
He added that Malaysia’s ecommerce transaction volume reached a new high of RM1 trillion last year.
Ouyang said some Chinese companies have been cooperating well with their counterparts here by helping to develop local ecommerce, online payment and cross-border logistics platforms.
In his speech when launching the forum, Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad said the nation has undergone rapid transformation as a result of the booming digital economy.
“Ordering our favourite nasi lemak and teh tarik using a mobile app and making payment using an ewallet has become part and parcel of our life,” he said.
He urged the government and the private sector to further collaborate with their Chinese counterparts in developing the digital economy.
“I call for greater investment on education, with a focus on giving everyone equal access to the learning of digitalisation skillsets to embrace the digital economy,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s special envoy to China, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who delivered a recorded message, said the digital economy is no longer fiction of the future but a reality in people’s daily lives.
As such, Tiong, who is also chairman of the Malaysia-China Business Council, urged local industry players to forge closer cooperation with China in advancing the nation’s digital economy.
