Malaysia

"The ancient Silk Road connected China and Europe and was an important trade route between the East and the West in ancient times. President Xi Jinping put forward the'One Belt One Road' initiative, which further broadened the connotation of the Silk Road. For countries in Southeast Asia,'One Belt "One Road" is a great opportunity to achieve common development and prosperity. Malaysia actively supports and participates in the construction of the "Belt and Road"." Mahathir said in an interview with our reporter.

    Mahathir is about to go to China to participate in the second "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum. He said that Southeast Asian countries are important participants in the "Belt and Road" initiative, and the construction of the "Belt and Road" will promote the prosperity and development of Southeast Asian countries.

    Looking back on his visit to China in August last year, Mahathir said, “Malaysia and China have always maintained close relations. Malaysia is willing to further strengthen cooperation with China and seize opportunities to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. The exchanges between Malaysia and China have a long history. The 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries have made positive progress. China's development is beneficial to the development of Malaysia."

    According to statistics, the bilateral trade volume between China and Malaysia in 2018 was US$108.63 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13%; of which, China’s exports were US$45.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%, and imports were US$63.23 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%. China has become Malaysia’s largest trade for 10 consecutive years. partner. Mahathir said: "I am willing to learn from China's development experience, continue to innovate and create, and achieve greater development in Malaysia. Malaysia welcomes Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia, deepen cooperation between the two countries, and benefit the two peoples."

    Mahathir has visited and attended meetings in China many times and witnessed the development achievements China has made since the reform and opening up. He said that since the reform and opening up, China's development achievements have played an important role in the development of the world economy. Malaysia is one of the beneficiaries of China's reform and opening up policy. Today, China is the world's second largest economy and has great potential to help developing countries raise their level of development.

    Mahathir was deeply impressed by China's achievements in the high-tech field. At the Malaysia 5G Technology Exhibition held a few days ago, Mahathir used a Huawei mobile phone to make a 5G video call on the spot. He believes that Malaysia can learn a lot from China's high-tech development. China has made considerable progress in the development of digital technologies and other emerging technologies, which has surpassed other countries and regions in the world to a large extent. China has firmly grasped the opportunity of new technological changes and has made great contributions to the world economy through the development of new technologies.