KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (NNN-Bernama) — It was the beginning of springtime with Cherry Blossoms starting to bloom in Beijing when Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim arrived in the Chinese capital at the end of March.
For the Chinese, spring is an auspicious time and for the Malaysia-China bilateral relations, it symbolised the beginning of a new chapter.
The visit not only helped to reinvigorate Malaysia-China bilateral ties but also netted investment commitments worth RM170 billion (US$38.58 billion) from Chinese investors after inking 19 memoranda of understanding, mostly in the high technology, green technology, digital economy and automobile sector.
Anwar also held back-to-back business meetings with top industry leaders from Malaysia and China who flew in to Beijing to meet him, which reflected the confidence the captains of industry have in Malaysia and his leadership in steering the country forward.
In a nutshell, Anwar’s three-day visit which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Malaysia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was a great success.
Now that the prime minister had laid the groundwork and paved the way, Malaysia must leverage on the positive outcome from the visit to speed up momentum of the existing and future collaboration.
The relevant ministries and government agencies must also start working concertedly and speedily to materialise the MoUs into concrete, tangible results that benefit the nation and its people.
It is worth noting that the visit was highly significant right from the start in Hainan, where in his speech at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 (BFA 2023) Anwar joined other ASEAN leaders in voicing concerns over spillover effects of the US-China rivalry
The high profile visit also provided Anwar the opportunity to clarify claims of his “pro China stand” and emphasise the need to continue the dialogue with China over South China Sea..
Later, while in Beijing, Anwar revealed in his public lecture at the renowned Tsinghua University that an American friend had labelled him as pro-China following his speech at the forum in Hainan.
Anwar made it clear that his official visit should not be misconstrued as a pro-China stand, instead be viewed as an endorsement to the strong bilateral ties that both countries have built over the years.
He said Malaysia does not see China as a competitor nor as an outright threat, hence Malaysia is happy to be a good neighbour, a friend and to benefit from the success of the strong relations.
Moreover, his Unity Government emphasises in building stronger relations with China for mutual benefit and for the same reason he had chosen to visit the country, the eighth foreign country and the second outside ASEAN since he became the prime minister last November.
In an interview with the largest English language media company in China, China Daily, Anwar said there was neither an easy solution for the overlapping territorial claims in South China Sea nor the problem is not insurmountable as long as there is dialogue.
He also pointed to China that Malaysia will continue pursuing oil and gas exploration in its area in the contested sea.
During the visit, Anwar met with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, as well as Chairman of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji at the Great Hall of the People.
The meetings with Xi and Li particularly saw leaders from both sides ready to work closer to take the bilateral relations to greater heights for mutual benefits.
The visit augured well for the longstanding bilateral relationship, as Malaysia and China get ready to celebrate the golden anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2024.
— NNN-BERNAMA
