Honourable Mr. Utama Ahmad Fuzi bin Haji Abdul Razak, Governor of Penang,
Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang,
Mr. Khor Teng How, Chairman of Penang Chinese Town Hall,
Mr. Lim Gait Tong, Advisor of Penang Chinese Town Hall,
State Councilors, Members of the Parliament and State Legislative Assembly, Leaders from the Chinese Community,
Dear guests and friends,
Happy Chinese New Year! This is the third time that I have participated in the Chinese New Year Celebration organized by the Penang Chinese Town Hall (PCTH) since I assumed the duty as the Chinese Consul General in Penang. I am very glad to gather with all of you to renew friendship and welcome the Chinese Lunar Year of the Tiger. On behalf of the Consulate General of China in Penang, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to all overseas Chinese, Chinese nationals, and friends from all walks of life in Penang and the consular district. Best wishes to all of you!
The Spring Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the Chinese nation. It is a happy time for sons and daughters to return home, family members to gather, and friends to meet. 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, and the results are prominent. Hereby, I would like to express sincere appreciation to the hard work of the Chairman Mr. Khor Teng How and the former PCTH chairmen, as well as all the members of the PCTH.
The year 2021 is a year of milestone significance for China. We celebrated the 100th 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 14th Five-Year Plan. In 2021, China’s economy grew by 8.1 percent, with its economic growth ranked high among the world’s major economies. China’s GDP reached 114.4 trillion yuan RMB, exceeded 110 trillion yuan RMB, ranking second in the world, accounting for more than 18 percent of the global economy. At the same time, China pursues the vision of a community of shared future for mankind, and leading international anti-epidemic cooperation. As of the end of 2021, China has provided about 372 billion masks, over 4.2 billion protective suits, and over 8.4 billion testing kits to the international community, and more than 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and international organizations, becoming the country that has supplied the most vaccines to the world.
China and Malaysia enjoy long-standing history of traditional friendship. Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership has been constantly deepened, and the scale of bilateral trade has grown steadily. In 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Malaysia reached 176.8 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 34.5 percent. China’s exports to Malaysia recorded 78.74 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 39.9 percent. China’s import from Malaysia expanded 30.4 percent to 98.06 billion U.S. dollars. Malaysia is China’s second largest trading partner among ASEAN countries, and China is expected to remain Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, showing the great vitality and potential of China-Malaysia economic and trade relations.
Dear guests and friends,
Penang is an international, intelligent, friendly, and livable state. It has a profound cultural heritage and is full of charm and vitality. The Penang state government’s implementation of the Penang 2030 vision and the new development concept advocated by China have great complementarity. The cooperation between the provinces and cities of China and Penang enjoys broad prospects. As an important part of the development of China-Malaysia relations, China and the four states in the consular district including Penang, have continuously strengthen exchanges and cooperation. Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped the sound momentum of the cooperation and exchanges between the two sides. The bilateral exchanges in the fields of economy, trade, culture, education, youth, etc., continue to show high enthusiasm. I hope that the provinces and cities of China, Penang, and other states in the consular district will take further steps to deepen cooperation, and hope 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.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will officially kick off after two days. I hope that all of you will follow and support the streamlined, safe, and splendid Olympic Games! Today is the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. I wish everyone Happy Chinese New Year, good health, success in your work, family happiness, and all the best in the Year of the Tiger!
Thank you!