By Media Selangor Team
SHAH ALAM, April 17 — Malaysia and China have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening economic cooperation under a renewed Five-Year Programme for Economic and Trade Cooperation (2024–2028), as both nations seek to strengthen bilateral ties amidst the United States’ (US) sweeping tariffs.
The partnership was formalised during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Malaysia, his first in 13 years, which culminated in a joint statement issued by both governments today.
The statement outlines enhanced collaboration across key sectors, including the digital, green, blue, and tourism economies.
Both sides agreed to promote two-way investment and strengthen cooperation in high-value, high-growth industries, including advanced manufacturing, intellectual property, the digital economy, research and innovation, sustainable investments, and logistics.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said the visit served as a platform to reaffirm the long-standing diplomatic and economic partnership between the two nations.
In a statement, it said that both leaders expressed their shared commitment to building a high-level strategic Malaysia–China community with a common future.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and President Xi held a bilateral meeting at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya yesterday, where they exchanged views on regional and global developments and emphasised the need to maintain a stable, forward-looking investment climate.
The joint statement also highlighted plans to strengthen collaboration across industrial, supply, value, data, and talent chains.
It further identified science and technology, digital transformation, and education as strategic sectors for enhanced bilateral cooperation.
Malaysia and China acknowledged the exponential growth in bilateral trade, which has surged nearly a thousand-fold since diplomatic relations were established in 1974.
China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, while Malaysia is China’s second-largest trading partner within Asean.
Anwar, who currently chairs the Asean bloc, has previously called for a unified regional stance on retaliatory import tariffs recently announced by US President Donald Trump, stressing that Malaysia would leverage its strategic relationships with the US, China, Europe, and Asean to find a constructive path forward.
At the multilateral level, both countries pledged closer coordination under international platforms, including the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the World Health Organisation, and BRICS.
China also welcomed Malaysia’s increased participation in BRICS-related initiatives and reaffirmed its support for Malaysia’s engagement as a strategic partner.
The joint statement also reiterated both countries’ support for Asean centrality and Malaysia’s upcoming chairmanship, while calling for greater regional stability, particularly in the South China Sea and in response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
