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Joint industrial park launched with Malaysia

Updated: 2012-04-02 07:02

By Cheng Guangjin in Qinzhou, Guangxi and Cui Haipei in Beijing (China Daily)

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Joint industrial park launched with Malaysia

Premier Wen Jiabao and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak activate the golden keys to launch the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in Qinzhou, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Sunday. [Photo by Huo Yan / China Daily] 

China and Malaysia on Sunday launched a joint industrial park, which was hailed as a model project that will improve cooperation between the two countries.

The China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park will be developed in the Jingu River area near Qinzhou port in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, an important passageway for trade with Southeast Asian countries.

The park will act as a demonstration project for cooperation, Premier Wen Jiabao said at the launch ceremony, also attended by his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The first phase of the project covers 15 square kilometers, with future development expanding to about 55 sq km.

This will be the first government-to-government mega industrial park project between China and Malaysia.

Companies from the two sides also signed an agreement to establish a joint venture in the park.

In talks with Najib earlier in the day in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, Wen said the two countries should consider building a similar industrial park in Malaysia.

Najib agreed on building a similar park in Malaysia, which he said would help Chinese companies leave a larger footprint in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China has already inked two such development deals with Singapore in the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park and the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

The Sino-Malaysian project will enjoy existing preferential policies for the national-level economic and technological development zone, and the Commerce Ministry and other departments will also come out with additional policies to provide a boost.

The park will focus on developing manufacturing, IT technology and modern service industries.

It will offer services not only for businesses of the two countries but also for ASEAN countries and global businesses.

Wen said China encourages more Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia.

The two sides should step up efforts in promoting cooperation on large projects in energy, transportation, manufacturing and law enforcement, he said.

Wen urged the countries to enhance financial cooperation and accelerate the realization of trading in local currencies.

He also said the two sides should make more efforts in maintaining regional peace and prosperity.

Najib hailed China's fast economic development and Sino-Malaysian cooperation, which he said have contributed to Malaysia's development. He said Malaysia is ready to build the industrial park with China into a model project that creates new growth points for future cooperation, and deepen cooperation in areas including trade, energy and finance.

Luo Yongkun, an expert on Southeast Asian studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told China Daily that as cooperation has mainly been in import and export businesses, the establishment of this industrial park marks a new field on the economic exchange platform.

The relationship between the two countries has become better than ever before, said Luo.

In 2011 bilateral trade volume amounted to about $100 billion, accounting for a quarter of that between China and the ASEAN, he said.

"With the gradual stretching of cooperation in trade, finance, security and other fields, prospects of Sino-Malaysian bilateral relations will be even brighter," Luo said.

For three consecutive years, China has been Malaysia's biggest trading partner, accounting for 13.2 percent of Malaysia's foreign trade. Malaysia is the biggest trading partner of China among ASEAN countries.

Palm oil was a major commodity export to China while in manufactured goods, technology products like computer chips took up some 40 percent of the trade for both sides.

The proposal to create the industrial park was raised by Wen during his visit to Malaysia in April 2011.

Najib said the speed for the realization of the park is a testimony of the vibrant energy, the commitments of both sides and their deepening trade and economic cooperation.

Contact the writers at chengguangjin@chinadaily.com.cn and cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn