China-Malaysia trade expansion top priority ...

China's Ambassador to Malaysia, Liu Jian, has placed expansion of trade and investment between Malaysia and China as his top priority for this year.
He expressed confidence that the full implementation of the China-Asean Free Trade Area (FTA) this year would accelerate economic development between China and Malaysia.

He spoke about the optimism to the Malaysian media at a luncheon at his residence in Kuala Lumpur.
Liu said he expected trade exchanges between Malaysian and Chinese businessmen to reach new heights this year especially with the implementation of the agreements and in tandem with the global economic recovery.
"Our businesses are already actively pursuing their trade links with their Malaysian counterparts, and we would like to welcome Malaysian companies to continue investing in China,” he said.
In 2009, the bilateral trade volume reached US$50 billion (about RM170.1 billion).
Liu said bilateral ties between Malaysia and China entered a new chapter following visits by both national leaders to each other's country last year.
Both countries formalised three agreements and one memorandum of understanding (MoU) when Prime Minister Najib Razak made his first official visit to China in June 2009.
The first agreement signed between Malaysia and China witnessed by Najib and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was the Malaysia-China Joint Action Plan on Strategic Cooperation.

The second agreement was the Abolition of Visa Agreement which covered regulations on the travel of holders of diplomatic and official or service passports.
These personnel will no longer be required to get visas for travel to China or Malaysia.
The third document signed between the two countries was the Marine Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement.
The MoU signed was the Malaysia-China Postal Cooperation MoU.
On education, Liu also expressed hope that there would be closer collaboration between Malaysia and China.
He said there were about one million Chinese students studying in Malaysia.
At the same time, there were also about 2,000 Malaysian students doing their courses in China, he added.
The ambassador hoped more non-Chinese students from Malaysia would study in the republic.
On tourism, Liu said China was currently expanding its tourism market and would encourage more of its citizens to visit Malaysia.
He said an estimated one million Malaysians visited China last year.
Similarly, he added, some one million Chinese nationals visited Malaysia last year, with more expected to come, especially parents of students pursuing their studies in Malaysia.
BERNAMA