China, Malaysia agree to support idea of developing cross-border land connectivity
(MMO) – China appears to have agreed with Malaysia to support the idea of developing cross-border land connectivity, especially a good train service, between the countries in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said efforts to develop the connectivity would not only require the cooperation between China and Malaysia, but also from other countries along the train lines.
He said the connectivity issue was the agenda discussed in several meetings between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Chinese President Xi Jinping before.
“We have seen the train lines from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and continue heading north across several countries to Kunming in this Yunnan province.
“From Kunming to Beijing, there exists the High Speed Rail, so the connectivity will really involve cooperation not only with Malaysia, but also with other countries along that routes,” he told a press conference here today.
Ahmad Zahid said in his meetings with several leaders here, they seemed to not only welcomed the efforts to develop the connectivity, but had also agreed in principle to take numerous initiatives to make it a reality.
“Not only they are willing to help in terms of ensuring smooth running of the project, but also in providing soft loan to those interested in making the idea of developing cross-border land connectivity, a reality,” he said.
On bilateral trade, Ahmad Zahid said the balance of trade between Malaysia and the Yunnan Province stood at US$343 million (RM1.53 billion) as at November 2016, with Malaysia’s main export being oil palm-based products, while importing mostly agricultural products from Yunnan.
He said since both China and Malaysia had yet to sign the Free Trade Agreement, Yunnan was having a few technical problems in exporting its products to Malaysia, but the Malaysian International Trade and Industry Ministry would take several proactive measures to overcome the problems.
He also said halal products, especially from Malaysia, had vast potential to be marketed in the province, and it did not refer only to food products, but also cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
In fact, he said many local entrepreneurs here were hoping to get halal certification for their products, hence opening a huge opportunity to be explored by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Halal Development Corporation (HDC).
The deputy prime minister, who is also the chairman of the cabinet committee on the national halal industry, also agreed to increase the number of trade missions from Malaysia to Yunnan so that Malaysian halal industry players could meet and forge closer cooperation with their counterparts here.
He said he had also obtained Jakim and HDC’s agreement to internationalise their halal certificates so that it would be accepted and recognised by other countries, including in the Yunnan province.
Ahmad Zahid said he would also discuss with Jakim and HDC on the possibility of setting up a halal laboratory overseas, in Yunnan for example, to facilitate the halal certification process for the local products.
