KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and China have strengthened their bilateral ties with the signing of 31 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in several sectors, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), the digital economy, tourism, trade, and education.
The signing of the MoUs was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a three-day state visit to Malaysia at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
Among the key agreements, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed three documents under the Foreign Ministry. These were to strengthen cooperation under the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative deepen development cooperation and support the Global Development Initiative.
One of the main accomplishments was the signing of mutual exemption of visa agreements between holders of public affairs passports and ordinary passports. The agreement was signed by Malaysia’s Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Wang Yi.
In the trade sector, three documents were traded relating to services trade, cooperation on standardisation, and deepening the Malaysia-China “Two Countries, Two Parks” project. The documents were signed by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.
Greater collaboration was cemented in the rail sector, with a pact signed by Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Ouyang Yujing.
Two MoUs were signed between Malaysia’s Digital Ministry and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in the digital economy sector, with a focus on collaboration in AI development and the digital economy.
The education sector also saw progress with an MoU on translating and publishing classic literature, between Malaysia’s Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and China Media Group (CMG) president and editor-in-chief Shen Haixiong.
There were also agreements in sectors including agriculture and food security, science, technology and innovation, higher education, tourism, arts and culture. There was also the exchange of MoUs via partnerships between media organisations and universities from both nations.
The impeccable package of deals is a significant step for Malaysia-China relations, opening new avenues of cooperation and mutual dependency in future and traditional areas -NST
