The 19th China-ASEAN Expo (hereinafter referred to as “China-ASEAN Expo”) with the theme of “Sharing New Opportunities of RCEP and Boosting China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0” recently ended in Nanning, Guangxi, with Malaysia as the theme for the second time National Conference. At this year’s CAEXPO, a total of 34 companies from Malaysia participated in the exhibition, of which 23 were offline exhibitors, focusing on displaying achievements in food and beverage, health care, oil and gas and other fields.

Sarah, a Malaysian food exhibitor, said that through participating in the series of procurement matchmaking meetings and online live broadcasts of the CAEXPO, the company has received many orders for its specialty fruits, and some Chinese merchants expressed their desire to go directly to Malaysia to purchase. In her view, CAEXPO is an important platform for strengthening economic exchanges between China and ASEAN, promoting trade activities and promoting regional economic recovery.

Since participating in the China-ASEAN Expo in 2004, Malaysia has organized more than 2,000 companies to participate in the exhibition, and the cumulative transaction volume has exceeded 1 billion US dollars. Mustafa, director of the Malaysian External Trade Development Agency, said that many Malaysian brand products have further developed the Chinese market through the CAEXPO, and the CAEXPO has become an important platform for Malaysian companies to enter the Chinese market.

This year’s CAEXPO also set up a special exhibition area for the 10th anniversary of the development and construction of “two countries and two parks”, and held a series of activities such as the China-Malaysia “two countries and two parks” upgrading and development forum, and the China-Malaysia palm oil industry development forum. As flagship projects of cooperation between China and Malaysia, the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park project are regarded by the outside world as a new highlight of the post-pandemic economic recovery and a new model for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” project.

On March 18 this year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect in Malaysia. “Under the framework of RCEP, I believe that the value of investment and cooperation between China and Malaysia in the ‘two-country double park’ will be further enhanced.” Xie Guihai, vice president of Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, said that Malaysia has always been an active participant and supporter of the China-ASEAN Expo. This year, Malaysia has once again become the country of honor, and the deepening and development of China-Malaysia cooperation will usher in new opportunities, show new vitality and release new dividends.

Lu Chengquan, President of the Malaysian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, believes that the high-level free trade environment created by RCEP will promote the deep integration of the Malaysia-China trade industry chain and supply chain, promote the development of regional digital trade, and continue to optimize the overall business environment.

China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner. By the end of 2021, China’s cumulative direct investment in Malaysia has exceeded 10 billion US dollars, and Malaysia’s cumulative direct investment in China has reached nearly 8 billion US dollars. In 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Malaysia will reach US$176.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 34.5%, which is faster than the average growth rate of trade between China and the 10 ASEAN countries in the same year.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail said that the pragmatic cooperation between Malaysia and China has yielded fruitful results and major projects are progressing smoothly. The Malaysian side is full of expectations for the future of bilateral relations, and is willing to deepen bilateral cooperation and connectivity in various fields, and discuss the prospect of opening up the middle line of the Trans-Asian Railway. We welcome more Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia to help Malaysia achieve innovative, inclusive and sustainable development.

China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation shows strong vitality