On February 2, 2022, Chinese Consul General in Penang Mr. Lu Shiwei attended the Chinese New Year Celebration organized by the Penang Chinese Town Hall (PCTH) and delivered a speech. More than 200 people from all walks of life including the Governor of Penang Mr. Utama Ahmad Fuzi bin Haji Abdul Razak, Chief Minister of Penang Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Chairman of PCTH Mr. Khor Teng How, Advisor of PCTH Mr. Lim Gait Tong, etc. attended the event.

In his speech, Consul General Mr. Lu Shiwei extended his best wishes to all overseas Chinese, Chinese nationals, and friends from all walks of life in Penang and the consular district. He said that the Chinese New Year Celebration organized by the PCTH has built a platform of harmony and happiness to give full expression to the values of kinship, friendship, and home. It has also reflected the fine tradition of overseas Chinese and Chinese nationals abroad to cherish the Chinese culture and enhance clan ties and harmony. Over the years, the PCTH has adhered to its original intention of serving the Chinese community, and is committed to promoting solidarity and mutual assistance, seeking common development of businesses, developing Chinese education, inheriting the Chinese culture, and promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and Malaysia in various fields. The PCTH has done a lot of fruitful work.

Consul General Mr. Lu Shiwei said that the year 2021 is a year of milestone significance for China. We celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), achieved the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled, brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty, and is embarking on a new journey towards the goal of building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. We responded with composure to risks and challenges, and maintained a global leading position in both the pandemic prevention and control and the economic and social development. We have made new advances in fostering a new development paradigm and pursuing high-quality development, and got off to a good start in implementing the 14^th Five-Year Plan. The China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership has been constantly deepened, and the scale of bilateral trade has grown steadily. China is expected to remain Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. In the new year, it is hoped that the provinces and cities of China, Penang, and other states in the consular district will take further steps to deepen cooperation, and hoped that all sectors of society including the PCTH, will play a bigger role in promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries at the national and local level in various fields. The Chinese Consulate General is willing to join hands with all parties to make new contributions to promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and deepening the development of China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership.