He said the ministry is pleased to see the government-to-government collaborative spirit “cascading” to the private sector in both countries.
“Miti looks forward to seeing this enhance our economy, including by increasing supply chain resilience, expanding trade in the services sector, and attracting high-quality investments, while also deepening human capital development and people-to-people ties,” he said in a statement today.
The MoU exchange took place in conjunction with the first official visit to Malaysia by China premier Li Qiang.
The ministry said the MoUs “reflect the continued confidence of the Chinese business community in the strength and sustainability of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China while reaffirming Malaysia’s position as one of China’s key investment and trading partners in the Southeast Asian region”.
“The key MoUs involved several Miti agencies: the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), and the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia (Exim Bank Malaysia),” it said.
The ministry said the MoU between Mida and China International Capital Corporation Ltd aims to strengthen economic and industrial collaboration, focusing on enhancing investment opportunities in high-value sectors and exploring supply chain integration within key industries in both countries.
It said Matrade’s deal with Bank of China (Malaysia) is to strengthen its alliances with international financial institutions, as it looks to enhance market access and financing options for Malaysian exporters.
Exim Bank Malaysia’s MoU with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Malaysia) aims to foster and enhance bilateral financial relations.
The ministry said other MoUs were between Malaysian and Chinese companies covering high-value-added sectors, such as oil and gas, energy, education, technical and vocational education and training, agriculture, automotive, and utility services.
Earlier today, following the China and Malaysia business community luncheon, Tengku Zafrul said the ministry will collaborate closely with its Chinese counterparts to explore and identify potential new areas for industrial park development under the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” framework.
The China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in Guangxi opened in 2012 and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park opened a year later in Malaysia.
“Malaysia and China have agreed that we should not just look at twin parks, but two countries with multiple parks,” he told reporters.