Daily Times

At their meeting with Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in Beijing on September 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang focused on strengthening their mutual modernization efforts and advancing a China-Malaysia community with a shared future that would benefit both countries’ citizens and advance regional development. Because of its proximity, shared culture, and economic prosperity, the partnership is notable historically.

Southeast Asia’s economic powerhouse and the world’s second-largest economy has a long history dating back 600 years to China’s Admiral Zheng. His drive for trade and friendly relations led him to Melaka, where he established the foundation for current China-Malaysia relationships. Amid the continuous geopolitical challenges in the region, this trade trajectory, historical link, and win-win amicable ties still exist and are significant for both bilateral ties and regional strategic stability.

Furthermore, the royal family’s connections to China have created a fantastic chance to strengthen the bonds even further. The Qing dynasty emperor of China bestowed the Imperial Order of the Double Dragon upon Sultan Ibrahim’s great-great-grandfather Abu Bakar in 1892, establishing the Johor royal family’s longstanding diplomatic ties with China.

Coinciding with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 11th anniversary of the elevation of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, King Ibrahim’s first visit as head of state to a non-ASEAN nation highlights the special attention paid by the Head of Malaysia to maintain strong bilateral relations, which will only grow stronger.

The King’s main priorities include fortifying historical ties, advancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership links, boosting trade and investment that is future-focused, and opening doors for cooperation in modernization, ASEAN, the Global South, and the broader economy. Sultan’s pivotal trip to China will strengthen Malaysian economic growth and regional connectivity while also accelerating the construction works in the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project through the Johor region and encouraging more Chinese businesses and investors to invest in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.

The development of bilateral relations is demonstrated by the recent spate of high-level exchanges, such as Premier Li’s recent visit to Malaysia and Premier Anwar Ibrahim’s two visits to China last year and the declaration of the establishment of a China-Malaysia community with a shared future. However, Xi told the King that China will support Malaysia Madani’s policy framework, which emphasizes sustainable development and good governance, the execution of important initiatives like “Two Countries, Twin Parks” and Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), collaboration in the fields of agriculture and poverty alleviation, and exploration of cutting-edge fields like new energy and the digital economy.

Through cloud computing and the Internet of Things, China helps Malaysia transition to Industry 4.0

Through cloud computing and the Internet of Things, China helps Malaysia transition to Industry 4.0 by increasing the productivity and efficiency of durian farms, showcasing the potential for close collaboration and mutual growth. After it is completed, the massive ECRL project will link the country’s less developed east coast region to its economically significant west coast, greatly enhancing connectivity and fostering more balanced growth. The “Two Countries, Twin Parks” project will strengthen Malaysia’s capability and productivity in the fields of manufacturing, petrochemicals, employment and entrepreneurship, agriculture, tourism, and human capital development.

Based on its Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2030, Malaysia aims to become Southeast Asia’s leading aerospace nation by 2030, with an annual revenue of 55.2 billion ringgit and 32,000 high-income jobs. King’s visit to the Beijing COMAC Research and Development Centre, where he saw China’s most recent aviation technological advancements, is highly significant in that it paves the way for future collaboration and growth in the aerospace sector and begins a new era of technological cooperation that will revolutionize the logistics and transportation sector by integrating cutting-edge technology to increase aviation industry’s efficiency.

China’s high-quality economic development, modernization, booming new energy and digital economy, and emerging markets of new quality productive forces have also created tremendous opportunities for Malaysia to reach its national development goals including the vision of Malaysia Madani, Industry 4.0, New Industrial Master Plan 2030, Digital Economy Blueprint and New Industrial Mater Plan 20230. China and Malaysia have recently agreed to renew and upgrade their economic cooperation pact aiming to diversify cooperation in these priority sectors.

17 per cent of Malaysia’s total global trade, estimated to be worth $98.8 billion in 2023, is with China, the country that has been its top trading partner since 2009. Due to reciprocal visa-free travel between China and Malaysia, Malaysia’s tourism industry and people-to-people exchanges have increased, drawing 1.47 million Chinese visitors in 2023.

The tight collaboration between China and Malaysia, together with Malaysia’s 2025 rotating chairmanship in ASEAN, will encourage the robust implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and expedite the conclusion of talks for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area version 3.0.

Xi’s message to the King indicates that, given the complex global and regional environment, maintaining close connections with China is crucial to Malaysia’s chances of future growth and stability. As China and Malaysia are seaside neighbours, Xi noted that the two countries have a long-standing relationship and that their positive neighbourly ties and good neighbourhood diplomacy now serve as an example for other regional nations.

The writer is a Bangladesh-based independent columnist and freelance journalist.