Professor Dr. Roziah Mohd Janor, Vice Chancellor of UiTM,
Associate Professor Dr. Ahmad Rashidy Bin Razali, Deputy Rector of UiTM Penang Branch,
Mr. Hu Jiangxue,Deputy General Manager of SANY Heavy Industry and Executive Director of Hunan SANY Polytechnic College,
Mr. Ian Neo Chee Hua,Secretary General of Association of Belt & Road Malaysia,
Mr. Jiang Zhongqi, President of Education Association between Malaysia and China,
Distinguished guests and friends,
Good morning!I am very glad to attend theBelt and Road Initiative Symposium organized by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Penang Branch. First of all, on behalf of the Consulate General of China in Penang, I would like to extend congratulations to the organizers for hosting this event!
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, China and related countries have been upholding the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits topromote policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds, and have achieved tangible results. At present, over 200 Belt and Road cooperation documents have been signed between China and 149 countries and 32 internationalorganizations and the pragmatic cooperation has been continuously deepened. In 2021, Chinese enterprises’ investment in countries along the Belt and Road was 20.3 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 14.1 percent, which made positive contributions to promoting the economic development of China and the host countries, as well as improving people’s livelihoodof the host countries so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of China, the overseas economic and trade cooperation zones built by Chinese enterprises have paid a total of 6.6 billion U.S. dollars in taxes and fees to host countries and created 392,000 local jobs. The Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park(MCKIP) in Pahang, Malaysia is one of them.
In 2017, at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi Jinping proposed that we should pursue innovation-driven development and intensify cooperation in frontier areas such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and quantum computing, and advance the development of big data, cloud computing, and smart cities so as to turn them into a digital silk road of the 21stcentury. The construction of a digital silk road will help narrow the digital gap among different countries, foster new growth drivers for Belt and Road participating countries, and promote more inclusive and sustainable development for all countries.
The innovation of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other such technologies has quickened, promoting the integrated development of the real economy and the digital economy, and accelerating the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry towards intelligent manufacturing. With the development of a new generation of information technology, the manufacturing industry has become the commanding height and the most competitive field of digital economy. The profound integration of digital economy and intelligent manufacturing has become an important engine to promote high-quality development of real economy.
China has the world’s most comprehensiveindustrial system with world’s largest manufacturing sector, and also enjoys the advantages of super-scale markets and domestic demand potentials.Intelligent manufacturing provides a new path for the high-quality development of “made in China”. By the end of 2021, the numerical control rate of key processes reached 55.3 percent among industrial enterprises above designated size, and the popularizing rate of digital R&D tools reached 74.7%. The country has built a batch of digital scenarios and factories for smart manufacturing, and a number of new industries and new business modelssuch as network collaboration, mass personalised customisation, and remote operation service have emerged. In 2021, China promulgated the 14th Five-Year Plan for Intelligent Manufacturing Development to clarify the development direction of intelligent manufacturing in the future. By 2025, most manufacturing enterprises above designated size will realize digital networking, and backbone enterprises in key industries will initially apply intelligence. By 2035, manufacturing enterprises above designated size will fully popularize digital networking, and backbone enterprises in key industries will basically realize intellectualization.
The manufacturing industry also plays a vital role in Malaysia’s economic development. In 2018, the Malaysian government has promulgated the National Policy on Industry 4.0. The Twelfth Malaysia Plan has proposed measures such as strengthening the construction of digital infrastructure, assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to achieve digital transformation, and providing an enablingenvironment for the development of digital economy. Chinese enterprises have accumulated better technical skills and practical experiences in 5G infrastructure construction, data centers, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, etc., and have actively and extensively participated in the digital transformation of Malaysia.
This year marks the 48thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, and bilateral relations have continued to develop steadily. With the joint efforts of both countries, we have overcome the economic downside pressures and challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic to realize a record high of bilateral trade volume in 2021, rising 34.5 percent to 176.8 billion U.S. dollars, with China being Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. Now, the combined forces of changes and a pandemic both unseen in a centuryhave brought the world into a phase of fluidity and transformation.In the face of numerous uncertainties, China has steadily and effectively carried out the work of coordinating COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control with social and economic development. The fundamentals of the Chinese economy – its strong resilience, enormous potential, and long-term sustainability – remain unchanged. China will continue to promote high-quality development, expand high-level opening-up, and contribute positive energy to world development.
Looking forward to the future, China is willing to work with Malaysia to strengthen the ASEAN-centered open and inclusive regional architecture, sharethe benefitsand development opportunities brought by the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), promote the BRI to grow in depth and substance, realize the advantage complementarity and the synergy of development strategies of the two countries, and foster the economic and social development of both countries. Both China and Malaysia should seize the important opportunity of the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, give full play to their respective advantages, promote international cooperation in intelligent manufacturing, strive to develop a number of pilot and demonstration projects together, and jointly promote the digitalization, networking, and intelligent transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
Last but not least, I wish this seminar a great success! I wish all guests and friends good heath, success in your work, and all the best!
Thank you!