Speech by H.E. Mr Ouyang Yujing
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia
Good evening to everyone!
It gives me great pleasure to attend the celebration dinner for the 20th anniversary of the establishment of CECCM today. First and foremost, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to CECCM for the 20th anniversary of its establishment!
Twenty years (20) ago, CECCM only had approximately ten (10) founding members. Now, CECCM has expanded to one (1) regional Working Committee, two (2) industrial Working Committee, twenty-eight (28) committee members, one-hundred and ninety-eight (198) ordinary members and thirty-seven (37) affiliate members. The business association is influential, complete with a mature organizational system. The development and growth of CECCM is the fruit of the collective efforts of the past leaders and members, and it is also a testament of the flourishing development of the China-Malaysia bilateral relations.
Over the past two decades, the high-level interactions between China and Malaysia were frequent and political mutual trust has continued to flourish and strengthened. In 2004, the leaders of the two countries reached a consensus on the development of China-Malaysia strategic cooperation. In 2013, a comprehensive strategic partnership was established, China and Malaysia joined hands and worked together in the development of “Belt and Road”, fought against the COVID-19 pandemic, worked together to support the multilateral system and promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
In 2002, the trade volume between China and Malaysia exceeded USD 10 billion for the first time. From January to November this year, the bilateral trade volume has exceeded USD 180 billion, and it is expected to surpass the 200 billion marks for the whole year. Twenty years (20) ago, Chinese enterprises were just starting to explore foreign investment, and there were only a handful of Chinese enterprises in Malaysia. Under the “Go Global” strategy and “Belt and Road” joint contribution Initiative, Chinese enterprises came to invest in Malaysia continuously. Currently, there are approximately 400 to 500 Chinese enterprises in Malaysia who are registered with the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy, doing businesses in various sectors including finance, logistics, energy, high-end manufacturing and high technology. In the first half of 2022, China’s direct investment in Malaysia amounted to USD 11 billion, accounting for 55.6% of the total foreign direct investment.
To all our Chinese and Malaysian business associates who are present here tonight, your dedication and hard work have contributed to the blossoming China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation. The resilient and stable China-Malaysia relations is the solid foundation for the long-term development of your businesses.
Currently, China-Malaysia relations are ushering in new development opportunities. The new Malaysian government led by The Honourable Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim is people-oriented, where he strives to restore economic development, has high regards for China relations, and has also emphasised the need to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between China and Malaysia.
The new top leadership of China led by Comrade Xi Jinping has always supported the correct direction of economic globalization, promoted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, encouraged bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation, strive to create new opportunities for the world with China’s new development, promote the development of an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to the people. The strategic goals of China and Malaysia are like-minded and the development directions are generally aligned. I believe with the joint efforts of both countries, China-Malaysia relations will be able to ride on the good momentum again. The increasingly close bilateral relations will enable Chinese and Malaysian enterprises to identify more development opportunities continuously. The Chinese Embassy in Malaysia is willing to work with CECCM to build a platform for Chinese and Malaysian enterprises cooperation and propel China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation to achieve greater success.
Finally, once again I hope everything goes well for the celebration event tonight, wishing all business associates present here today continued success!
Once again, I wish the organizers a successful celebration and may all the arrangements for the event be smooth and successful. Wishing all our business associates who are present here today continuous success!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you!
