Latest news with #)-
The Star
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Forging a brave new world
POSTERITY, I dare say, will regard the recently concluded Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur on May 27 as a historic turning point. While the 46th Asean Summit and its related meetings like the 2nd Asean-GCC Summit were equally historic for their role in progressing Asean's agenda, current trade wars and geopolitical fragmentation have somehow made many quarters perceive the inaugural Asean-GCC-China Summit as the game changer during the recent gathering. Malaysia could stand proud not merely for arranging such a smoothly-run summit, but also for the bridging of minds that have arguably emerged as key voices of the newly resurgent Global South – particularly through the successful issuance of a joint statement, usually the most difficult feat in any multilateral meeting. As part of their joint statement, the Asean-GCC-China leaders condemned the continued atrocities on the people of Gaza and called for a ceasefire, echoing the sentiments of all right-minded peoples across the world. Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz: Asean can be a strategic gateway to the East Asian markets. Beyond politics, a deeper trilateral economic integration makes perfect sense. For context, the combined numbers for Asean, the GCC and China speak for themselves: 2.15 billion people (or just over a quarter of the world's population) and a collective GDP of almost US$25 trillion. Figures for foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, too, stack up nicely: In 2024, Asean attracted US$235bil in FDI inflows, representing about 17% of global FDI. China received US$114.76bil, while the GCC secured US$70bil. Collectively, these figures accounted for roughly 30% of global FDI inflows. From such data alone, the significance of this combined economic might was clear to the leaders from China and the two economic blocs. Asean can be a strategic gateway to the East Asian markets. Malaysia in particular – with our well-established trade and industrial ecosystem, rule of law and ease of investor journey – is also well poised to facilitate such investments into the broader Asean and East Asian markets. The GCC's economic dynamism, strategic location connecting Europe, Asia and Africa, and its shared religious and cultural values with Malaysia as well as Asean make it an ideal partner for deeper economic integration. Indeed, in 2023, Asean's trade with the GCC stood at US$130.7bil and FDI inflows were US$390.2mil. On a wider scale, China was Asean's largest trading partner with US$696.7bil in trade and US$17.3bil in FDI. China and the GCC are hence crucial economic partners for Asean and for Malaysia. It therefore is totally appropriate for us to want to engage with them, both on a bilateral and trilateral format. That is also why Malaysia will soon start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the GCC, because there is so much potential to increase the current total trade of US$22bil. But I want to go a bit more granular and show how engaging on an Asean-GCC-China scale can benefit ordinary Malaysians, including the youth, women and MSMEs. Through the 18 Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) under the Economic Pillar of Malaysia's 2025 Asean Chairmanship, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry and other related ministries are working diligently to ensure substantial progress for these PEDs by year's end. Some of these are of course directly linked to the GCC and China. For instance, we have completed negotiations to not only upgrade the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement but also the Asean-China Free Trade Area 3.0. Both of these will be signed in October, boosting both intra-Asean and Asean's trade with China – which as we know will be key to tide our region over during this period of geopolitical instability. Separately, another of our PEDs, namely the Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation Between the Asean-GCC was also completed in full. Through this, our two regions will explore new avenues of cooperation like market integration, sustainability, decarbonisation, digital transformation and inclusion, including for MSMEs. Sectorally, Asean's PED on the Development of Policy Recommendations and Guidelines to Support Asean EV Implementation Roadmap will benefit from China's global leadership in electrical vehicles (EVs). Accounting for more than 70% of global electric car production in 2024, China also produced more than 70% of all EV batteries ever manufactured. Consider also the Endorsement of the Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2026-2030, which is clearly in alignment with the GCC's ramping up of its efforts to diversify its economies and energy mix away from oil and gas in pursuit of renewable energy (RE). They have pledged an US$100bil investment in RE by 2030 to transition to clean energy and reduce carbon emissions. There are, indeed, many synergies for economic integration. Development of Asean Tourism Outlook? China and GCC are key tourist markets for Asean. An Asean Framework for Integrated Semiconductor Supply-Chain? China is both a major chip buyer and maker. In conclusion, when Malaysia proposed the PEDs for its Chairmanship year, we were clear on how we could boost Asean's socio-economic dynamism and ergo, the Asean-GCC-China trilateral relationship can likewise contribute to this. Furthermore, global demand for halal products is currently valued at over US$3 trillion and will grow to US$5 trillion by 2030. This is a market Asean, GCC and China can collaborate to tap into and even corner together. Also, as a combined market of more than two billion people, Asean, GCC and China should be regions where young Malaysian men and women, including those in small business, look for job or business opportunities. We are paving the way for all our Malaysian 'jaguh' to enter wider markets for their goods and services, while ensuring that their interests will always be safeguarded through well-negotiated FTAs. But one would argue that even spreading one's wings to Asean really is just a waypoint for the truly ambitious. While other regions may draw inwards, our three are seeking even greater connectivity for our people and businesses. The coming together of Asean-GCC-China's leaders signals that we refuse for our horizons to be limited – by ourselves or others – to our own borders or backyards. Indeed, deeper economic integration would do well to better support regional security, which feeds into Asean's Political Security deliverables. This is also why Asean – with its principles of centrality, neutrality, non-alignment – must matter to not only its member states, but also to partners like the GCC, China and indeed, other dialogue partners like Australia, Canada, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Japan and New Zealand. Truth be told, what we can achieve together through this nascent Asean-GCC-China trilateral configuration is only limited by our imaginations. Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister. The views expressed here are his own.
Malaysia Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysia Sun
Full text: Remarks by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit
KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday addressed the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-China-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The following is the full text of his remarks at the summit: Remarks by H.E. Li Qiang Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China At the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit Kuala Lumpur, May 27, 2025 Your Honorable Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Your Highness Crown Prince Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Colleagues, It gives me great pleasure to join you in Kuala Lumpur. First of all, the Chinese side would like to extend sincere appreciation to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for his vision in proposing the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit. We also wish to express our heartfelt thanks to the Malaysian government for the dedicated efforts and thoughtful arrangements made for the summit. China, ASEAN and GCC countries have a long history of friendly interactions, with exchanges and cooperation between us spanning thousands of years from the ancient Silk Road to the Belt and Road Initiative. Today, against a volatile international landscape and sluggish global growth, the establishment of the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit creates a platform for exchanges and a mechanism for cooperation. It is a groundbreaking initiative in regional economic cooperation that has carried forward the legacy of history, and more importantly, answered the call of the times. If we take a look at the world map and draw a line between China, ASEAN and the GCC, we will get a big triangle. As we know, triangle is the most stable structure. By enhancing connectivity and cooperation, we can pool our resources, production capacity and markets to foster a vibrant economic circle and growth pole. This is highly important both to our respective economic prosperity and to peace and development in Asia and the world. We should firmly seize this historic opportunity to enrich the trilateral cooperation, and set a fine example for global cooperation and development in this era. First, we should set a fine example of opening up across regions. Together, China, ASEAN and the GCC account for roughly a quarter of the world's population and economic output. Our markets, if fully connected, will generate even greater space for development and more substantial economies of scale. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade negotiations have been fully concluded. It is hoped that the negotiations for the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement can also be concluded as early as possible to take trilateral trade to a higher level. We should firmly expand regional opening up, and develop a big market with more efficient mobility of resources, technologies and talents and enhanced trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to fully unlock the huge potential of open development. Second, we should set a fine example of cooperation across development stages. Countries of the three sides are at different stages of development, yet we should not let these differences stand in the way of our cooperation, but transform them into complementary strengths that we can harness. China is ready to, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, work with ASEAN and the GCC to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, increase macro policy coordination, and deepen collaboration on industrial specialization. We should make efforts to turn our respective strengths into collective strengths, and help each other tackle development challenges. We should create a new model of international industrial and economic cooperation, and strive for coordinated development where everyone does its level best, efficiency is multiplied, and benefits are shared. Third, we should set a fine example of inter-civilization integration. Countries of the three sides have diverse civilizations. At the same time, we all belong to the same Asian family and share the same Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. We should deepen people-to-people exchanges to further consolidate the foundation for mutual trust. We should effectively manage differences in the spirit of mutual understanding, advance win-win cooperation through the exchange of ideas, and explore a new way for promoting the inclusiveness and common progress of different civilizations. China actively supports Prime Minister Anwar's initiative on Islam-Confucianism dialogue. We are ready to work with ASEAN and the GCC to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, promote mutual learning among civilizations, and pool more consensus and strengths for peace and development. Today, we have established the trilateral cooperation mechanism and drawn up a promising vision of joint development. What's more important now is for all sides to take concrete actions and advance substantive cooperation. Between our three sides, we should work together to promote cooperation in key areas and achieve more effective common development. China is ready to discuss with ASEAN and the GCC a trilateral action plan on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We should enhance synergy and connectivity in infrastructure, market rules and payment systems, actively consider establishing a regional business council, deepen economic integration, and make development more resilient and efficient. While expanding cooperation in traditional areas such as energy and agriculture, we also need to step up cooperation in emerging areas such as AI, the digital economy, and green and low-carbon development to foster and cultivate new growth drivers. We should also respond to our people's aspiration for enduring friendship, and deepen people-to-people exchanges. To promote travels and people-to-people bond between the three sides, China has decided to roll out an "ASEAN visa" for Southeast Asian countries offering five-year multiple-entry visas to eligible applicants for business and other purposes, and to extend unilateral visa-free policy to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain on a trial basis, which will effectively give visa-free status to all GCC countries. At the global level, we should always stand on the right side of history and add more positive energy to world peace and development. We should pursue equal, mutually beneficial, open, inclusive, practical and efficient cooperation, and, through our example, encourage the international community to uphold multilateralism and free trade and reject unilateralism and protectionism. China will work with ASEAN and GCC countries to step up communication and coordination in multilateral mechanisms including the United Nations, vigorously defend the common interests of developing countries, categorically oppose hegemonism and power politics, and make global governance more just and equitable. As President Xi Jinping noted, "For us to break through the mist and embrace a bright future, the biggest strength comes from cooperation, and the most effective way is through solidarity." China will join ASEAN and the GCC in fostering synergies that multiply rather than simply add our individual strengths, and inject strong impetus into our common development and prosperity. I am confident that through our concerted efforts, trilateral cooperation will continue to produce positive results and deliver more benefits to our people, thereby making greater contributions to peace and development in Asia and the world. Thank you.
The Star
28-05-2025
- Health
- The Star
Brunei says Sultan in good health after hospitalisation in Malaysia
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is in good health after being admitted to a hospital in Malaysia due to tiredness during a regional summit, Reuters quoted his office as saying on Tuesday. The 78-year-old monarch was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur and is expected to remain there for several days on the advice of Malaysian medical experts, his office added. "His Majesty... is in good health," the statement from his office read, noting that the Sultan had been feeling tired. Earlier, members of the media had inquired about the Sultan's absence from the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit held Tuesday (May 27) afternoon, amid reports that His Majesty was undergoing treatment at IJN, according to Bernama. This was later confirmed by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing this week's Asean leaders' summit. "He's a little bit tired and resting," Anwar said briefly during a press conference on the 46th Asean Summit and Related Summits at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. - Bernama
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Brunei says Sultan in good health after hospitalisation in Malaysia
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is in good health after being admitted to a hospital in Malaysia due to tiredness during a regional summit, Reuters quoted his office as saying on Tuesday. The 78-year-old monarch was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur and is expected to remain there for several days on the advice of Malaysian medical experts, his office added. 'His Majesty ... is in good health,' the statement from his office read, noting that the Sultan had been feeling tired. Earlier, members of the media had inquired about the Sultan's absence from the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit held this afternoon, amid reports that His Majesty was undergoing treatment at IJN, according to Bernama. This was later confirmed by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing this week's ASEAN leaders' summit. 'He's a little bit tired and resting,' Anwar said briefly during a press conference on the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Barnama
27-05-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Li Qiang Highlights Vast Potential For ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Collaboration
GENERAL KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 -- From left: China Premier Li Qiang, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Oman Deputy Prime Minister Oman's Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik al Said, attend a Royal Luncheon in conjunction with the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits at Istana Negara, here. -- fotoBERNAMA (2025) COPYRIGHT RESERVED KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 -- China's Premier Li Qiang addressing the Gala Dinner and officiation of the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Economic Forum 2025 here tonight. --fotoBERNAMA (2025) COPYRIGHT RESERVED KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- Amid a new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called on ASEAN and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to jointly pioneer core sectors of trilateral development, including cooperation in high-tech industries, while safeguarding industrial and supply chains. Speaking at the ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Forum on Tuesday evening, Li highlighted the rising challenges of protectionism and unilateralism, stressing that the three regions must steadfastly promote openness and eliminate hostility to unlock broader market opportunities. He emphasised that while the combined economic scale of the three regions accounts for about one-quarter of the global economy, their current total trade volume only accounts for approximately 5.4 per cent of global trade, indicating vast room and potential for cooperation. 'This indicates a critical entry point for us to strengthen cooperation and accelerate development,' Li said. Reflecting on public cooperation, he expressed optimism after witnessing vibrant growth during his visit to Malaysia, as well as during his previous trips to the Middle East and Gulf countries last year. Li noted that each country possesses unique strengths, and deeper collaboration can create powerful synergies. 'This collaboration will deliver higher-quality research and development (R&D) support for innovation platforms, a broader range of applied products, and foster the growth of emerging industries and new business models, thereby boosting the trilateral nations' influence and standing in the global innovation landscape,' he said. Using the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector as an example, Li revealed that China's NEV production and sales surpassed four million units between January and April this year. He added that over 80 per cent of China's manufacturing sector now operates under the 'Smart Factory' framework. 'NEVs are not only a triumph of the energy revolution but also an integration of intelligent technologies, serving as a major smart hub that accelerates the development of multiple emerging technologies,' he said.
