SHANGHAI, Sept 23 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to hold a roundtable business engagement and deliver a keynote address at the WorldSkills Conference 2026 here today.

Anwar will begin his programme with an engagement with about 21 Chinese captains of industry as part of the efforts to attract quality and impactful investments into Malaysia.

He will then attend the opening ceremony of the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 competition, to be officiated by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Held from Sept 22 to 27, WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 is a major international platform showcasing excellence in technical and vocational skills.

In the 48th WorldSkills Competition, Malaysia is represented by 22 participants competing in 21 skill categories under the “Road to Gold” agenda, aimed at securing the country’s first gold medal at the prestigious global competition.

About 1,400 skilled young people from over 65 countries and regions are gathering in China’s largest city to compete across 64 skill categories.

In the afternoon, the Prime Minister and his delegation will travel by high-speed train to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, for the second leg of the visit.

Upon arrival, Anwar is slated to hold one-on-one business meetings with tech giants AgiBot, Huawei and Alibaba Group as well as automotive company Geely and Chinese multinational technology and telecommunications equipment company ZTE Group.

Anwar will later attend a welcoming dinner hosted by Li.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to launch a book titled “Rethinking Ourselves: Justice, Reform, and Ignorance in Postnormal Times”, which has been translated into Mandarin.

China remains Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, with total bilateral trade reaching US$113.82 billion (RM456.68 billion) for the period of January to August this year.

The Prime Minister arrived here on Tuesday for a three-day working visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou. — Bernama