(June 14, 2022)

Honourable Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang,

Mr. Wen Zhanbin, Secretary of Shantou Municipal Party Committee,

Mr. Fang Lixu, Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Guangdong Committee,

Mr. Goh Wan Sing, President of Malaysia Teochew Chamber of Commerce (MTCC),

Distinguished guests and friends,

Good afternoon! I am very glad to attend the opening ceremony of the Overseas Chinese Trade Fair (OCTF) 2022 (Penang) Smart Manufacturing & Digital Industrial Exhibition. First of all, on behalf of the Consulate General of China in Penang, I would like to extend congratulations to the organizers for holding this event! 

The OCTF was jointly organized by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Guangdong Committee, Malaysia Teochew Chamber of Commerce (MTCC), Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Think Tank, and Shantou Federation of Industry and Commerce. Since 2015, the OCTF has been held in Shenzhen consecutively for seven sessions and has been held outside China for three sessions. OCTF is a platform created for carrying out foreign exchanges and cooperation with the support of the resources from overseas Chinese. The operating mechanism of OCTF includes “government as supporter, chambers of commerce as organizers, on the basis of market principles and social participation”. Each session held outside China has attracted exhibitors from dozens of countries and regions around the world. The OCTF is based in Shenzhen and cements its basis in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Relying on the global business network established over the years, OCTF has been continuously satisfying the needs of overseas Chinese businessmen for the services related to international trade, and has efficiently promoted trade exchanges and cooperation between the suppliers and buyers from China and other countries along the Belt and Road so as to build a bridge for overseas Chinese businessmen to carry out extensive cooperation among themselves and deepen their participation in Belt and Road cooperation, as well as the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has become an important platform that plays the role of the overseas Chinese as a bridge to connect different parts of the world. 

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 21st century. In recent years, the intelligent manufacturing and digital industries have developed rapidly in the world. While most countries along the Belt and Road are still in the initial stage of digital transformation, the huge potential for digital economic growth has yet to be released. The construction of the digital silk road will foster new growth drivers, and promote more inclusive and sustainable development for all countries. 

With the accelerated innovation of information technology, and the integrated development of real economy and digital economy, traditional manufacturing industry is accelerating its transformation and upgrading towards intelligent manufacturing. China has formulated the 14th Five-Year Plan for Intelligent Manufacturing Development and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Digital Economy Development, which clarify the main objectives, key tasks, and mechanism guarantee for the future development of intelligent manufacturing and digital economy. China possesses solid fundamentals for developing a digital economy, and benefits from a vast market and a complete industrial system, the largest number of Internet users in the world, immense data resources, and a wealth of applications of digital technologies in various industries. Moreover, the Chinese people’s growing demands for a better life are creating a larger and more diverse domestic market.  

Malaysia is in a period of industrial restructuring and upgrading, and has formulated development plans such as the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, the Twelfth Malaysia Plan, MyDigital, etc., focusing on the development of digital economy, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), smart industry, and modern services industry. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Penang’s industrialization. The Penang state government is actively promoting the digitalization of the economy and society, and is committed to adopting the 4IR technologies to boost productivity and instill new vigor and vitality into the “Silicon Valley of the East”. 

Dear friends,  

This year marks the 48th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, and bilateral relations between the two countries have continued to develop steadily. In 2021, China-Malaysia bilateral trade hit a record high, rising 34.5 percent to 176.8 billion U.S. dollars, with China being Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. Both China and Malaysia have their own industrial advantages, and the two countries have strong economic complementarity and huge potential for cooperation. China is willing to continue to join hands with Malaysia, jointly promote bilateral and economic cooperation, explore the new development space brought by the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), deepen the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and pragmatic cooperation, and build a more solid China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership. 

Following the China-Malaysia Commodities Exhibition in 2018 and 2019, the OCTF came to Malaysia again after three years, which shows the broad prospects of economic cooperation between China and Malaysia, and also provide opportunities for Chinese provinces and cities to deepen cooperation with Penang and Malaysia in the field of smart manufacturing and digital industries. It is expected that the majority of overseas Chinese businessmen who participate in this event will make it your mission to promote the friendly cooperation between China and Malaysia, seize the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road cooperation and the entry into force of the RCEP, actively utilize the important platform of the OCTF to give full play to the unique advantages of overseas Chinese businessmen of being able to understand both China and the outside world, and contribute to the promotion of economic and trade cooperation between the China and Malaysia at national and local levels. 

Last but not least, I wish this exhibition a great success! I wish all guests and friends good health, success in your work, and all the best!  

Thank you！