KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 - Malaysia welcomes more investment from China in the area of digital economy, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah.

In a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, today, he emphasised the importance of the two countries working more closely in the areas relating to digital economy as well as cooperation between the telecommunication companies.

“I have impressed upon his excellency (Wang) that we take digital economy as premium, as the way forward to rebuild our economy and to sustain our future growth,” he said after his bilateral meeting with Wang, here.

Wang who is also the China State Councillor is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia starting yesterday.

Describing the meeting as a very warm and fruitful, Saifuddin noted that next year will mark the 10th Anniversary of the two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and both sides agreed to commemorate the important milestone.

Both sides also looked forward to more high level visits in the coming years and to promote greater trust between both countries.

He said Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who met Wang on Tuesday have expressed their interest in visiting China when the time permits.

SaIfuddin pointed out that the “Community of Shared Future” concept, a brainchild of President Xi Jinping, is very much aligned with the concept of “The World is a Family” that is being pronounced by the Malaysian Prime Minister.

“Malaysia welcomes the initiative by China to promote openness, inclusiveness and mutual respect, and we support the concept in principle,” he said.

Saifuddin said they also discussed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” project; the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project; and the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley cooperation.

“As we all know the ECRL is a project that is going to be realised and we have started working on it. Under the twin parks project, again, China is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Establishment of China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said Malaysia through Miti and the Pahang State Government is preparing for the 10th Anniversary of its sister industrial park, Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), to be celebrated in 2023.

Saifuddin said he and Wang also discussed other matters pertaining to the relationship between Asean and China as a dialogue partner, particularly on the CSP between both sides.

“How do we make the CSP work better. How do we work on the idea of common development on food security and widening the Free Trade Area,” he said.

Earlier, Saifuddin and Wang witnessed the handover document between China Meteorological Administration and Malaysian Meteorological Department on CMAcast, a system that uses Chinese satellite Digital Video Broadcast technology to transmit meteorological data, and the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Hunan Broadcasting System and Media Prima Omnia Sdn Bhd. — Bernama