DEPTH
ior director of strategic planning
the ministry, said Malaysia, which
undertaken an initiative to embark
a fourth industrial revolution,
comes cooperation and investment
m China that will provide capital,
ate high-skilled jobs and push Ma-
ia’s technological advancement.
We entice quality investments
t are driven by the use of advanced
hnologies such as robotics, AI and
wledge-intensive sectors which
ld spur the growth of our manu-
uring base, all of which are strong
ds of expertise that China will off er,”
stated.
Multifaceted polices and measures
being mulled to facilitate Chinese
inesses to tap into the opportu-
y in the Malaysian markets for
onomous driving and AI, among
er emerging technologies, Nizmar
hd Nazar, chief technology offi cer
Malaysia Automotive Robotics and
Institute, told the Global Times on
sidelines of a sub-forum on intel-
nt cooperation between China and
laysia.Cultural, healthcare bonding
Along with economic cooperation,
cultural bonding appears to be gaining
a higher profi le.
Cultural rivalry become increas-
ingly prominent as exchanges between
China and other economies are rising,
said YB Tan Kok Wai, Malaysia’s spe-
cial envoy to China and chairman of
the Malaysia-China Business Council.
Ever since its inception, some West-
ern countries have been critical of the
BRI, said the special envoy.
This suggests that “along with
China’s growing regional and global
clout, the Western world’s fear of
China’s rise has grown, and outdated
viewpoints from the Cold War era,
including the China threat theory,
have been repeatedly hyped,” said Tan,
urging the use of cultural soft power to
resolve contradictions.
Chinese travelers made 3 million
trips to Malaysia last year, according
to Bai, the Chinese ambassador to
Malaysia. He believes the number will
continue to rise.
He also cited Xiamen UniversityMalaysia, the fi rst overseas campus set
up by a prestigious Chinese university
in Malaysia. Since the opening of the
campus in Kuala Lumpur in 2016,
more than 3,000 Chinese and foreign
students have been admitted, with over
1,000 coming from Malaysia, accord-
ing to the ambassador.
Greater cooperation is also expected
between the two nations in the health-
care sector in which culture plays an
important part.
With China and Malaysia getting
deeply involved in the BRI cooperation,
an increasing number of enterprises
will engage in bilateral cultural and
healthcare cooperation, Xue Shouc-
hun, vice president of marketing at
LKK Health Products Group, said at
another sub-forum.
Vowing to promote the Chinese
health culture through talent nurturing
and scientifi c and research partner-
ships, Xue believes the company will
enable Malaysian consumers to access
traditional Chinese health products
and services and create more jobs for
locals.ew fronts to explore
hared prosperity
Thai conglomerate
bullish on China’s
expanding market
Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group
is upbeat about the Chinese economy as the coun-
try is transforming from a global manufacturing
hub into the world’s biggest market, said Group
Senior Vice Chairman Yang Xiaoping.
“Demand has become the vital element for the
markets of the future,” Yang told Xinhua in an
interview. “China will turn into the world’s largest
market in the future as its middle-income group
has exceeded 400 million and continues to grow.”
A typical example of the marked expansion of
the Chinese market is CP Group’s factory in Qing-
dao, East China’s Shandong Province, which used
to export nearly all its products to Europe, the US
and Japan just 40 years ago.
“Now 70 percent of the products are sold in
China, while exports account for only 30 percent of
the total output,” Yang said.
As the fi rst foreign company entering China
after the country adopted an opening-up policy,
CP Group has benefi ted from the expansion of the
Chinese market, establishing over 400 enterprises
in various sectors and generating a yearly sales
volume of nearly 130 billion yuan ($19 billion).
Yang applauded China’s opening-up and en-
couraged the country to continue opening up its
market to the world.
Over 60,000 overseas companies were newly
established in China last year, surging 69.8 percent
year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Commerce
(MOFCOM) showed.
China has also unveiled a raft of measures to
attract foreign investors including shortened nega-
tive lists for foreign investment market access, a
new industry catalogue as well as a slew of policies
to further open up fi nancial markets.
China’s 12 pilot free trade zones (FTZ) have
attracted nearly 40,000 foreign enterprises since
the fi rst was established in Shanghai over fi ve years
ago, according to a report released by the Chinese
Academy of International Trade and Economic
Cooperation (CAITEC) with the MOFCOM, the
Xinhua News Agency reported in June.
Yang said CP Group has confi dence in the
potential of the Chinese market and is committed
to upgrading production and sales models to better
cater to the needs of Chinese consumers.
Many measures and programs have been
launched by the group to satisfy consumers’ rising
demand for healthy food and convenient catering
services, including developing new technologies
for food storage and delivery, and opening stores
integrating the functions of restaurants, conve-
nience stores and fresh produce stores.
Yang said the group is also strengthening
cooperation with Chinese businesses in exploring
overseas markets as Chinese enterprises are gradu-
ally transitioning from the world’s manufacturers
into global investors.
The country’s outbound direct investment
(ODI) rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to $129.83 bil-
lion in 2018, according to the MOFCOM.
China ranked as Thailand’s third-largest inves-
tor last year, and bilateral trade reached over $80.14
billion, rising 8.7 percent year-on-year.
CP Group has cooperated with Chinese auto-
maker SAIC Motor in car manufacturing, estab-
lishing a sales network of 110 dealers in Thailand
and producing 100,000 vehicles per year. It has
also established a partnership with China Mobile
in the Thai telecommunication industry.Global Times – XinhuaPage Editor:
[email protected]