KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) will work with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) to bolster business relationships and cooperation between Malaysia and China.
In a statement today, FMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said the collaboration would involve various fields, namely digital economy, green development and new energy initiatives.
This initiative is in response to the call for the private sector to play a greater role to strengthen and elevate bilateral relations following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s maiden official visit to China last month.
The partnership will encourage businesses from both countries to leverage the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, the world's largest free trade agreement involving 15 countries with a total population of more than 2.2 billion, for greater market access, he said.
According to the statement, the cooperation entails organising more exhibitions and forums to facilitate dialogues and business matching among enterprises, conducting in-depth enterprise-level research and promoting the development of regional digital trade.
“(Additionally, the three parties would be) actively advocating policy support measures to promulgate a conducive business ecosystem for the private sector in both countries to strengthen trade and investment linkages,” it said, following FMM’s dialogue event yesterday with counterparts from the two councils.
FMM had signed memoranda of understanding with CCPIT Guangdong Sub-Council and CCPIT in August 2003 and September 2016, respectively, with the mandate to promote trade and investment collaboration between both countries.
“Moving forward, FMM would be renewing the memorandum of understanding with CCPIT during the visit of Ren Hongbin, chairman of CCPIT to Malaysia, in the second half of this year before arranging a visit to China next year,” added Soh.
— Bernama
