MALAYSIA CAN DRIVE ASEAN-CHINA SYNERGIES IN ACHIEVING ASIAN CENTURY - TENGKU ZAFRUL

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) — Malaysia could drive ASEAN-China synergies to achieve the Asian Century, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said ASEAN and Malaysia are the places to be moving forward and Malaysia is keen for greater connectivity with Hong Kong and the wider Greater China as well as North Asia moving forward.

“ASEAN is a market of almost 700 million people and counting, while Hong Kong remains the gateway to China and a global financial hub. By working together, we can shape the Asian Century,” he said during the closing remarks at the China Conference: Southeast Asia 2025 today.

He also said Hong Kong could serve as ASEAN’s gateway to China, while Malaysia could be China’s gateway not only to ASEAN but also the wider world.

“The things we can do together... such as fintech, the halal and shariah-compliant finance industry, semiconductors, electric vehicles, renewable energy, tourism and supply chain integrity. 

“But if I could encourage your participation in anything, it’s to support women and our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), including connecting them to their Hong Kong counterparts,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul also said that Malaysia seeks to make ASEAN Centrality a reality this year and make ASEAN indispensable not only to member states but to partners like Hong Kong.

He said ASEAN Centrality works in everyone’s interest. 

“We heard a lot about what is attractive about ASEAN but also what is challenging. Rest assured, that what Malaysia and our ASEAN colleagues will be working on, not only in 2025 through our Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) but also via the 2045 ASEAN Community Vision, is to double down on the strengths and address the challenges,” he said.

He also noted that there would always be debates about how fast or slow ASEAN can go, but the fact remains that ASEAN matters and that the world realises it matters. 

“So, for Southeast Asia, ASEAN must remain front and centre of our architecture, whether it involves security or economics,” he stressed. 

Besides that, he said the integration of ASEAN is an idea whose time has come regardless of what is happening in or between Washington DC and Beijing.

“The US-China rivalry must not prevent us from building our ASEAN Community, or erode our fierce neutrality because without it, our attractiveness as a region disappears,” he pointed out. 

He said issues like BRICS membership should not be considered as nailing the colours to any mast but simply a natural development in nations.

Hence, he said that 2025 will be a gamechanger for ASEAN.

“There is every reason to be confident that, the PEDs we have identified for our 2025 chairmanship as well as the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, if properly executed, will be transformative for the region. 

“Indeed, Malaysia is constantly seeking to update ASEAN to make it relevant to current, real-time challenges, including through updating ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), completing Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and realising the ASEAN Power Grid (APG),” he added. 

— BERNAMA