PETALING JAYA: Continued collaboration and cooperation with China will be key for Malaysia’s aspirations to become a regional digital powerhouse, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said Malaysia-China digital cooperation would facilitate groundbreaking technological exchange and enhancement while improving connectivity between the two countries.
He referred to Alibaba, a representative enterprise of Hangzhou’s digital economy, as having played an important role in Malaysia's digital transformation.
“Alibaba Cloud established its cloud data centre and second availability zone in 2017 and 2018, which helped create the Malaysia Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ), which was the first electronic World Trade Platform (e-WTP) jointly established by Alibaba Group and a foreign government.
“During my tenure as Malaysia’s Transport Minister, I vigorously promoted intelligent logistics and transportation digital transformation, focusing on green policies for ports and digital transformation plans, with the support and assistance of the Alibaba Group.
“As a global leader in artificial intelligence technology, Alibaba Cloud also provided various services for the digital transformation of Malaysian enterprises and government agencies.
“This is another example of the win-win cooperation between China and Malaysia,” Dr Wee said in his speech at the Third Global Digital Trade Expo held in Hangzhou, China, on Thursday (Sep 26).
He also explained how China’s impressive digital economy growth could serve as a primary example for Malaysia to follow going forward.
“In the first half of 2024 alone, China's digitally deliverable service import and export scale hit historic highs, reaching 1.42 trillion yuan (RM926.24bil) and 1.22 trillion yuan (RM794.92bil) for cross-border e-commerce import and export, respectively.
“China's telecommunications business revenue also increased year-on-year by 6.2% in 2023, and network service capabilities continued to be upgraded, with total computing power ranking second in the world.
“As such, we look forward to learning about China’s key planning and initiatives for digital economy development in 2024 at this conference,” he said.
Dr Wee also noted how states such as Johor, being the fastest-growing data centre market in Southeast Asia, should look to learn from the Chinese province of Zhejiang, which has seen its digital economy account for over half of its total economy.
“In 2023, the province's digital economy achieved a value-added output of 4.33 trillion yuan, growing by 10.1%, accounting for 52.5% of GDP, the fastest growth rate among all provinces in China.
“The comprehensive development level of digitalisation has been ranked first in China for two consecutive years as its core digital economy industries' value-added output grew by 9.1%, accounting for 12.9% of GDP in the first half of this year.
“These are remarkable achievements that Malaysia can learn a lot from,” he added.
The Third Global Digital Trade Expo, which began Wednesday (Sept 25), is organised by the Zhejiang Hangzhou Municipal Government and the China International Trade Association.
The four-day expo featured leading enterprises from 32 countries and regions. It focused on innovation and showcased cutting-edge applications in digital trade, including artificial intelligence, smart robotics, and low-altitude economy.
Dr Wee attended the expo with the Melaka Chief Minister's investment advisor and Klebang state assemblyman Datuk Wira Lim Ban Hong, who served as a panellist.
Other speakers for the event included Cambodian Minister of Post and Communications Vandeth Chia and League of Arab States to China Minister Plenipotentiary representative Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy Hafez.
