September 29, 2024
This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, as well as the "China-Malaysia Friendship Year," an important milestone for both nations. From September 19 to 22, Malaysia's Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim made a state visit to China, where President Xi Jinping held talks with him. In June this year, Premier Li Qiang visited Malaysia, and the two governments issued a joint statement on deepening and enhancing the comprehensive strategic partnership and building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future. To implement the strategic consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, strengthen the deep friendship between the two nations, and enrich local economic and trade exchanges, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce successfully held a series of trade activities, including a business matching conference and a showcase of specialty agricultural products in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from September 24 to 28. Enhancing Economic and Trade Cooperation with a Business Matching Conference On September 25, the China (Chongqing) - Malaysia Business Matching Conference was successfully held in Kuala Lumpur. Li Xun Fu (Deputy Director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce) delivered a keynote speech, introducing Chongqing’s geographic advantages, transportation advantages, industrial strengths, business environment, living conditions, market conditions, factor environment, and cooperation opportunities. He proposed suggestions for expanding bilateral trade, enhancing two-way investment levels, and promoting digital economy cooperation. His vivid and detailed presentation received unanimous praise from attending guests and entrepreneurs. Azrul Shah Bin Mohamed (CEO of TOURISM SELANGOR) and Dato' Joseph Lim (Vice President of Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce) also delivered speeches. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years and has been a major source of investment for many years. In recent years, Chongqing has upheld the traditional friendship between China and Malaysia, and economic and trade cooperation has become increasingly close. From January to August this year, the total import and export volume between Chongqing and Malaysia reached 13.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. There are now over 100 Malaysian-invested enterprises in Chongqing, and more than 120 engineering projects have been invested in Malaysia, promoting direct shipping routes from the Beibu Gulf to Port Klang and from the Beibu Gulf to Kuantan. Currently, Chongqing is the only city in Western China with "four-way" connectivity (Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest) and "four types" of transportation integration (rail, road, water, and air). It is the only national logistics hub city in China that combines port, land port, air port, production services, and trade services. To the south, the new land-sea corridor connects to 523 ports in 124 countries and regions worldwide, with Chongqing's rail-sea combined transport ranking second in cargo volume and first in value in China. To the west, the China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) has cumulatively operated over 16,000 trains, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total in China. To the east, the Yangtze River Golden Waterway has surpassed 200 million tons in cargo volume and port throughput, ranking first in Western China. To the north, the "Yumian Russia" train has transported 184,000 TEUs, six times the volume at its inception. In the air, Chongqing has opened 114 international routes, ranking second in passenger throughput in Western China. With a resident population of over 32 million, Chongqing's population is nearly equal to that of Malaysia. The Chinese government has designated Chongqing as an important core city in Western China, aiming to build a fourth world-class city cluster, alongside Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, to drive the modernization of 380 million people in the region. Chongqing is an important industrial base in China, covering 39 of the 41 industrial categories and all 31 categories of manufacturing. In 2023, Chongqing's GDP exceeded 3 trillion yuan, with industrial output surpassing 2.6 trillion yuan, forming Asia's largest electronic information industry cluster and China's largest automobile and motorcycle industry cluster. In 2023, Chongqing produced 70.63 million laptops, 76.93 million mobile phones, 2.32 million cars, and 5.62 million motorcycles; one in every eight cars and one in every five motorcycles in China is produced in Chongqing, and one in every three laptops and one in every ten mobile phones worldwide is made in Chongqing. Currently, Chongqing is striving to become an important center for advanced manufacturing in China, focusing on building the "33618" modern manufacturing cluster, establishing a 200 billion yuan (about 27.4 billion USD) industrial investment mother fund, and accelerating the development of three trillion-yuan dominant industrial clusters: smart connected new energy vehicles, next-generation electronic information manufacturing, and advanced materials. It is also cultivating three pillar industries worth 500 billion yuan each: intelligent equipment and manufacturing, food and agricultural product processing, and software and information services, as well as innovating to create six advantageous industry clusters worth 100 billion yuan each in areas such as new displays, light alloy materials, new energy, and new energy storage, while nurturing 18 "new star" industrial clusters, including satellite internet. Li Xun Fu, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, offered three suggestions for strengthening economic and trade cooperation: First, expand the scale of bilateral trade. Both sides should leverage their comparative advantages to explore broader markets. Chongqing will actively support enterprises in increasing imports of petroleum products, chemicals, agricultural products, food, machinery, and handicrafts from Malaysia, while also guiding more exports of Chongqing's intelligent equipment, electronic information products, and automotive products to Malaysia to deeply integrate into local economic and social development. Second, enhance the level of two-way investment. Chongqing will actively promote its enterprises to invest in Malaysia, aligning with Malaysia's industrial planning to jointly develop a number of iconic projects that have good market benefits, strong driving capabilities, and significant benefits for the people's livelihood. Malaysian enterprises are welcome to develop in Chongqing, where the annual Western China International Investment and Trade Fair will be held, inviting Malaysian friends to visit Chongqing for inspections and to seek business opportunities together. Third, promote cooperation in the digital economy. Chongqing is a national pilot area for the innovative development of the digital economy and is actively building industrial clusters for integrated circuits, smart terminals, and blockchain. As the third-largest economy in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is undergoing a significant digital transformation and development. Both sides can strengthen their alignment in promoting new forms of digital trade, digital talent training, and cross-border e-commerce, jointly driving high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation. This event saw participation from over 80 Malaysian enterprises, business associations, and representatives from Chongqing, creating a lively atmosphere on-site. Enhancing Exhibition Cooperation with a Showcase of Specialty Agricultural Products From September 26 to 28, the "7th Malaysia International Agricultural Technology Exhibition (Agri Malaysia 2024)" was held, which is not only Malaysia's largest B2B agricultural gathering but also a platform to showcase the latest agricultural products and best practices. To enhance exhibition cooperation and promote the internationalization of Chongqing products, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce organized more than 10 local enterprises to showcase specialty agricultural products such as dried goods, seasonings, halal foods, Chongqing noodles, sour plum soup, and quality agricultural inputs like potassium dihydrogen phosphate fertilizer. Nearly 13,000 purchasing visitors attended the event, resulting in around 100 initial customer agreements reached on-site.
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