(February 5, 2022)

Mr. Ling Kui Ee, Executive Councilor of Kedah,

Mr. Tan Ah Kiang, President of MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch,

Mr. Cheng Lai Hock, President of Kedah Chinese Assembly Hall,

Mr. Ch’ng Chuwn Leong, Chairman of United School Committees’ Association of Kedah,

Mr. Yeoh Kim Hock, Chairman of Gabungan Persatuan Orang-Orang China Sungai Petani, 

Mr. Ang Poon Chuan and Mr. Alex Kang Pang Kiang, Advisors of MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch,

Mr. Kuan Kok Siang, Special Officer (Chinese) to Menteri Besar of Kedah,

Mr. Ng Swee Liang, Organizing Chairman,

Dear guests, entrepreneurs, and friends from media,

Good morning! I am very glad to come to Kedah to attend the Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration 2022 organized by the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) Kedah-Perlis branch. Chinese Lunar New Year, known as the Spring Festival, is very first festival celebrated in the whole year in China. The Spring Festival is considered to be the most sacred and the grandest traditional festival of the Chinese nation. On behalf of the Consulate General of China in Penang, I would like to extend congratulations to the MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch for hosting the Lunar New Year Celebration 2022. At the same time, I would like to express my sincere greetings and best wishes to all the distinguished guests present and overseas Chinese and Chinese nationals living in the consular district. 

The year 2021 is a year of milestone significance for China. Year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and China realized the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled, with the battle against absolute poverty won as planned. The country has 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. China has overcome the severe challenges of the once-in-a-century pandemic, and is pursuing high-quality development, maintaining a good momentum of economic growth. In 2021, China’s GDP exceeded 110 trillion yuan RMB, grew by 8.1 percent year-on-year. China’s economic growth ranked high among the world’s major economies. According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China’s GDP will account for about 18 percent of the world economy in 2021, increasing steadily year after year. In 2021, both the scale of China’s trade in goods and its international market share hit a record high. The total import and export of goods expanded to 39.1 trillion yuan RMB, grew by 21.4 percent year-on-year. Shifts in the domestic and international economic environment have brought tremendous pressure, but the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, characterized by strong resilience, enormous potential, and long-term sustainability, remain unchanged. We have every confidence in the future of China’s economy. 

China’s development has provided opportunities for China-Malaysia cooperation. Despite the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation has kept growing and continue to maintain a strong momentum. According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China, in 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Malaysia reached 176.8 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 34.5 percent. China’s exports to Malaysia recorded 78.74 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 39.9 percent. China’s import from Malaysia recorded 98.06 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 30.4 percent. Malaysia is the second largest trading partner of China among ASEAN countries and the tenth largest trading partner in the world.  

Kedah and Perlis are important states within the consular district of the Consulate General of China in Penang. Kedah is rich in rice production, and is famously known as the “rice bowl” of Malaysia. The pandemic has not stopped Chinese enterprises from investing in Northern Malaysia. Risen Solar Technology Sdn. Bhd. announced in 2021 that it will invest RM42.2 billion in Kedah within 15 years to produce photovoltaic products, which will create 3,000 job opportunities. Chinese enterprises such as XSD International Paper Sdn. Bhd. and Jinjing Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd. have set up factories in Kedah before the pandemic. They have recently started production and operations, and will continue to create job opportunities, improving the wellbeing of the local people. Perlis is rich in agricultural products, and the Superfruits Valley located in Chuping Valley Industrial Area (CVIA) has promoted the development of the diversified high-value fruit industry in Perlis. 

In 2021, at the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a series of practical cooperation initiatives, including buying up to 150 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of agricultural products from ASEAN in the next five years. The first cross-border fresh produce line by chartered flight from Malaysia to China (Kuala Lumpur-Shenzhen) was officially launched in December 2021. The opening of this fresh food line has unleashed even greater potential for the bilateral economic and trade cooperation. It is expected that Malaysian specialties such as durians, groupers, live crabs, and fresh prawns can be delivered from Kuala Lumpur to Chinese consumers within four hours. 

 Dear friends,

In year 2022, China will ride the wind, break the waves, and build on past achievements to forge into the future. The Communist Party of China (CPC) will convene the 20th National Congress of CPC. As China has entered a new stage of development, it implements the new development concept, and accelerates the construction of a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay, mutually reinforcing domestic and international circulations. China will firmly expand opening-up, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, earnestly fulfill the obligations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), and deepen economic and trade ties with other RCEP parties. China offers a huge potential market. We expect Malaysian entrepreneurs to take active actions to seize the new opportunities of China’s development and opening-up, explore new business opportunities for China-Malaysia pragmatic cooperation, expand cooperation, seek common development, and work together to deliver a bright future of mutual benefit and win-win results.  

The MCCC has actively promoted the development of China-Malaysia economic and trade relations and investment cooperation for more than 30 years, and its role as a bridge has become increasingly prominent. Although the MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch was established not long ago and happened to be working in the downward trending of the economy under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic since its establishment, the branch has kept strengthening its development through its unremitting efforts bucking the trend of economic recession caused by COVID-19. The council members of MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch took the initiative to serve its member companies and actively participated in organizing online exchange activities with the Chinese Consulate General. We expect MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch to remain active in the new year. Especially facing the new opportunities brought by the RCEP, it is hoped that MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch could promote exchanges and cooperation between the enterprises from Kedah, Perlis and from China, play a more active role in communication and services, and make new contributions to the China-Malaysia exchanges and cooperation at national and local levels.  

The Beijing Winter Olympics has officially kicked off yesterday, and will inject more confidence and strength to the world amid the pandemic. “Together for a Shared Future” is the official motto for Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Let us join hands and look to the future with confident strides! I sincerely wish the work of the MCCC Kedah-Perlis branch a great success, and I wish everyone good health and family happiness in the Year of the Tiger! 

Thank you!