Najib Visits China to Mark 40 Years of Bilateral Ties
but also accords a private
dinner. That is very, very
significant,” Najib said ahead
of the visit.
Najib is scheduled to meet
Jinping on Friday (May 30) in
Beijing, after which they will
attend the private dinner.
China’s President Xi Jinping shaking hands with Malaysia’s Prime
Minister Najib Razak
A visit full of significant
occasions befitting the 40th
anniversary of MalaysiaChina ties awaits Datuk Seri
Najib Tun Razak when he
makes his six-day official trip
to China.
For one, the Chinese
government is willing to
oblige a Malaysian request
that the celebration marking
the occasion be held on
May 31, a public holiday in
China, which happens to
be the day Kuala LumpurBeijing ties were formalised
in 1974.
The close relationship
between the two
nations would be further
emphasised when Chinese
President Xi Jinping sets
aside normal protocol by
hosting a private dinner for
Najib.
“Usually Chinese presidents
don’t give a private dinner.
Usually they just attend
the bilateral meeting (with
a visiting dignitary) and
dinner is given by the prime
minister.
The decision by Najib’s
father, Malaysia’s second
prime minister Tun Abdul
Razak Hussein to establish
ties with Communist China
in 1974 was seen as a bold
move at that time, with
Malaysia being the first
Southeast Asian country to
do so.
Najib described his visit to
the economic powerhouse
as ‘momentous and historic
in the present context’.
He had visited China on
numerous occasions, as
Malaysia’s defence minister,
education minister, deputy
prime minister and even as
the prime minister.
defence and people-topeople ties.
The strategic cooperation
was elevated to a
comprehensive strategic
partnership when Jinping
visited Putrajaya last year.
A Malaysian government
official said Najib would likely
push the Kuala LumpurBeijing trade agenda, eyeing
the volume to be more than
US$100 billion recorded last
year.
A government official
hinted that the trade
volume with China could
hit US$160 billion annually
as underlined in the fiveyear economic and trade
cooperation programme
between the two countries.
China has been Malaysia’s
largest trading partner
since 2009 while Malaysia
is China’s eighth largest
trading partner globally.
The official said Najib’s visit
was expected to change the
flow of investment which
saw Malaysia’s cumulative
foreign direct investment
(FDI) into China at US$6.3
billion as at 2012, while the
More than S$2 billion was
estimated to have been
pumped into overseas
property investments from
Singapore last year – a 43
percent rise on the 2012
amount.
“But this time around, he
is not only receiving me
Observers said Najib had
further nurtured the strong
bonds established by his
late father with China across
a wide spectrum of activities,
from trade and investment
to education, agriculture,
Property Show, which will be
held at Marina Bay Sands
on June 7th and June 8th,
will feature more than 15
developers and a dedicated
Penang Pavillion.
investment cross-flow from
China into Malaysia was
merely a fraction of that.
“In the first half of 2013, FDI
data showed that Malaysia
received US$72 million
while Malaysia’s investment
in China was recorded at
US$318 million,” said the
official.
Malaysia, he said, wanted
to attract a portion of the
projected outbound Chinese
investment of US$500 billion
over the next five years.
The possibility of
establishing a clearing bank
may also feature on Najib’s
agenda, as part of the trade
between the two countries
was conducted using their
respective currencies, the
official said.
The official said the China
visit may also provide
an opportunity for Najib
to woo back Chinese
tourists following a drop
in the number of Chinese
visitors to Malaysia after
the disappearance of a
Malaysian jetliner on March
8 with a large number of
China nationals aboard.
Malaysia Top for Singapore Buyers
Experts have suggested a
rise in interest in Iskandar
investments contributed
to the rise in Malaysia
property and real estate
investments, yet it remains
Directors of Property Hunter with International Group Managing Director of
to be seen whether the
PropertyGuru Group, James Sandrum (third left)
recent introduction of new
foreign buying regulations in
Malaysia was the most
The country was responsible
the country will lead to any
popular overseas property
for just over half all overseas
reduction in interest.
buying destination for
property investments,
Singapore investors
according to the Monetary
The biggest ever Malaysia
during 2013, according to
Authority of Singapore, with
property exhibition
estimates from the central
the United Kingdom and
in Singapore is set to
bank in the city-state.
Australia ranked second and
take place next month.
third.
PropertyGuru’s Malaysia
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