Malaysia to attract investment from China more actively
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Malaysia has lined up 10 initiatives to attract businessmen from China in a more active way to promote China-Malaysia's bilateral trade, a Malaysian official said here in an interview with Xinhua recently.
Wong Lai Sum, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), said this is in tandem with the fully implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA).
MATRADE has planned to carry out high-level visits to China next year with Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed leading a delegation, she said.
Wong told Xinhua that MATRADE will actively participate in trade fairs held in China, among which are the China-ASEAN Expo and the Shanghai World Expo.
Wong said that China-ASEAN FTA construction has been making good progress since 2005, and in Malaysia, business communities have actively participated in tours to China organized by MATRADE.
Following the full implementation of the FTA on Jan. 1 next year, Wong believed that more people will come to MATRADE's doorstep to seek advices for doing businesses in China.
Meanwhile, she urged Malaysian businessmen to learn about the procedures of entering the huge market in China.
Established in March 1993, MATRADE, a statutory agency under Malaysian International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI), is the country's export promotion agency.
It is responsible for assisting Malaysian companies to succeed in the international market while bridging overseas buyers with the local sellers.
Wong pointed out that besides organizing specialized marketing missions to China, MATRADE also invited Chinese businessmen to take part in trade fairs held in Malaysia.
MATRADE also liaised with the Chinese authorities and to help businessmen from China enter the Malaysian market and make them aware of the possible cost reduction through cooperating with Malaysians.
Wong noted that the China-ASEAN FTA will also help further transform Malaysia into China's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Wong stressed the strong complementarity in the two countries' economy and trade.
Citing an example, Wong said that China is good at manufacturing machinery while Malaysia excels at producing machinery parts.
The China-ASEAN FTA has been implemented by stages as early as 2005 with the related countries consenting to eliminate or reduce tariffs to boost trade in the region.
Upon its full establishment, the China-ASEAN FTA will become the largest free trade area in the world which embraces a total population of over 1.9 billion.
Wong said that China and the ASEAN member countries enjoy close relations, especially with Malaysia and Singapore where reside many citizens of the Chinese origin.
These citizens not only draw China closer to the two countries, but also promote trade and economic development among the countries.
When asked about the impact of low-cost goods from China, Wong admitted that this may more or less affect the local producers, but she said China is always willing to engage other countries to hold consultations on such matters.
Wong also said that market liberalization is an inevitable development trend as this is a way to raise a country's competitiveness.
Among the ASEAN countries, Wong said Malaysia enjoys several advantages, including the well-diversified exports.
On another note, Wong said that it is crucial to raise people's awareness about the FTA as many of them are reluctant to apply for the Certificate of Origin to enjoy the benefits stipulated in the FTA.
Wong said a low utilization rate does not mean failure of the FTA since it is undeniable that the China-Malaysia's trade has been growing.
She believed that people will come to see the benefits brought by the China-ASEAN FTA within two or three years.
