On November 1, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai revealed that the East Coast Rail Link project in Malaysia, which will commence early next year, will be undertaken by China. China will also provide a low-interest loan of 55 billion ringgit (approximately 89.1 billion yuan) to the Malaysian government; the loan repayment period is 20 years, with the first seven years exempt from repayment including interest.
Liow Tiong Lai stated that Malaysia is handing this massive project to China, and the two countries' consortia will cooperate to advance the plan; China will pay the loan through the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia (EXIM Bank).
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib led a delegation to China on October 31, beginning a six-day visit. Najib will witness the signing of a financing framework memorandum of understanding and an Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contract between the two countries on Tuesday (November 1), with China Communications Construction Company Ltd. and Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) signing the contract.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, at a regular press conference on October 31, responded to a reporter's question that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib will meet and hold talks with Chinese leaders and attend the signing ceremony of bilateral cooperation documents; as for the specific cooperation agreements, no information is available at present. She pointed out that Malaysia is an important cooperative partner of China in the neighborhood. In recent years, China-Malaysia relations have maintained good momentum of development, with fruitful pragmatic cooperation in trade, investment, finance and other fields, and increasingly deepened cultural and people-to-people exchanges. She believes that the relevant documents will cover all aspects of China-Malaysia cooperation.
China and Malaysia Sign 16 Memoranda, the Most in History
Liow Tiong Lai said that the Malaysian and Chinese governments will sign 16 memoranda of understanding, and Najib will also witness at least 15 business-to-business memoranda between Malaysian and Chinese private enterprises, covering areas including investment, development, construction, finance, e-commerce, production of solar panels, construction of ports, natural gas pipelines, and seawater desalination plants. He described this as the most fruitful official visit in history, witnessing many achievements never seen before between China and Malaysia.
Mohd Irwan Serigar said that in developing Malaysia's digital economy, Najib will discuss with Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Jack Ma, hoping to appoint Jack Ma to the digital economy committee and provide some suggestions; if Jack Ma agrees, that would be great news. Jack Ma will be invited to speak on new trends in the digital economy at the Malaysia-China Business Forum on November 1.
Mohd Irwan Serigar believes that the digital economy will remain a hot field for the next 10 to 20 years, and this is one area where Malaysia and China can exchange with each other.