A Brighter Dawn

Gan Tian Loo

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations. In the early 15th Century， Zheng He， a Ming Dynasty maritime explorer， made seven voyages to the Western Seas and passed through the Malacca Strait more than once， resulting in many tales of trade and cultural exchanges between the peoples of China and Malaysia. Over the past 40 years since the beginning of Chinas reform and opening-up， Chinese Malaysians have invested in businesses and made donations to schools in China， laying a solid foundation for the further development of Malaysia-China relations.

As close neighbors and partners across the sea， Malaysia and China have forged a complementary and mutually beneficial relationship， which has stood the test of time for nearly half a century despite the often volatile international and domestic environment. For 10 consecutive years， China has remained the largest trading partner of Malaysia. Furthermore， enterprises from the two countries have looked to each others countries as their most important investment destination， creating tens of thousands of job opportunities in both countries. Both sides have also achieved remarkable results in fields of tourism and education.

Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative （BRI） has boosted bilateral trade between Malaysia and China up to volumes of tens of billions of dollars. Chinese enterprises have invested in industrial parks in Malaysia， facilitating directly beneficial flow of capital， cultural exchange， talent cultivation and technology transfer. Previously， the two sides were already actively cooperating in tourism. For example， Jonker Walk （Jalan Hang Jebat）， a street in Malaccas Chinatown， has established a sister relationship with the ancient water town of Zhouzhuang in eastern Chinas Jiangsu Province， which will promote people-to-people exchanges and open space for mutual learning in cultural relics protection and tourism. Thanks to joint efforts of the two sides， China has become Malaysias largest source of foreign tourists. In recent years， Malaysia has successfully attracted more than 2 million visitors from China annually， bringing direct benefits to various industries including services.

Today， “Look East， Go South” has become a trend in global political economics. Malaysia should work with China not only to deepen traditional friendship， but also to seize opportunities brought by the new era， tap potential of cooperation and learn from each other in scientific innovation， communication， humanities， ecology and elsewhere. For example， in the field of e-commerce， China was one of the first in the world to popularize the business model and continues to be the fast-growing marketplace for cash-free transactions， which now cover almost all daily business activities from shopping malls to street stalls. E-payment is certainly a global trend for world trade to be expected. Thanks to extensive bilateral financial cooperation， Malaysia is expected to enter a cash-free era with e-commerce becoming an indispensable facet of daily life.

Within the framework of the BRI， Malaysia and China have actively promoted cooperation in infrastructure construction including trunk road building， which is expected to become the focus of future joint development， while also promoting bilateral connectivity， personnel exchanges and trade and logistics cooperation to produce mutual benefits.

Malaysia-China relations have entered a new historical era. I believe that our two countries can find even greater room for development.

To commemorate the 45th anniversary of China-Malaysia relations， the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia has released the song Bahu Kiri （“Left Shoulder” in Malay）， which goes：

Distance doesnt stop us from knowing each other，

10，000 miles apart yet we remain neighbors.

Only you can calm my heart when troubles arise.

….

My right shoulder blocks the wind and rain， and

I save my left shoulder for you to lean on.