Interview: China-ASEAN dialogue relations promote economic exchanges, create business opportunities, says Malaysian business leader

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The dialogue relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established 30 years ago have promoted economic and trade exchanges and created huge business opportunities in the region, a Malaysian business leader said.

Ng Yih Pyng, deputy president of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), told Xinhua ahead of the 18th China-ASEAN Expo that the achievements of the partnership are fully in line with the common aspirations of China and ASEAN countries, including Malaysia.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the dialogue relations between China and ASEAN.

"Malaysia was among the first ASEAN countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. The bilateral relations have a long history. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for the past 12 years. Although the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the world, the bilateral economic and trade between Malaysia and China have maintained stable development," Ng said.

According to the Chinese Customs, bilateral trade between China and Malaysia recorded a 35.2-percent increase for the first eight months of 2021 to reach 108.28 billion U.S. dollars.

Ng said that in recent years, China has made great progress in many fields, including digital economics, technological innovation, energy regeneration, intelligent transportation and e-commerce, to which the Malaysian government has also attached great importance in its own development strategy.

"We hope to learn more from China, (so we) can promote the technological exchanges between the two countries and achieve common development," he said, adding that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECP) free trade deal, which was signed in November 2020, has opened a new chapter for the development of China-ASEAN relations.

The RCEP groups together the 10 ASEAN members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- plus Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

On the upcoming 18th China-ASEAN Expo, Ng said the ACCCIM has never been absent in the past 17 years. "Despite the pandemic, this year we will still attend the 'Cloud Expo'. We will try our best to promote Malaysia-China economic and trade exchanges under the new normal," he said.

The 18th China-ASEAN Expo will be held on Sept. 10-13 in Nanning, the capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.