SINGAPORE, April 21 — Malaysia is seeking another height in Malaysia-China economic relations with the visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to the mainland, end of this month, in conjunction with the 40th anniversary celebration of bilateral diplomatic relations with China.

While China is Malaysia’s single largest trading partner and largest trading partner among ASEAN member countries, there is still room for both countries to tap Chinese investments into Malaysia.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said Malaysia wanted to attract more Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in the country.

“In the next few years, there will be 500 billion yuan (RM260.5 billion) available for investment abroad and Malaysia needs to garner a slice of this cake.

“We do not want our slice to be insignificant. We want that size to be credible,” he told Malaysian journalists here after attending the Trans-Pacific Partnership Ministerial Meeting which ended yesterday.

For the past five consecutive years, China has been Malaysia’s single largest trading partner with a total trade value of over US$100 billion (RM321.5 billion).

Mustapa said there was a big gap in Malaysia’s investment in China if compared with China’s investment in Malaysia and both countries wanted to bridge that gap.

“There is a need to step up Chinese investment in Malaysia. Of course we have got the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, which is gaining some momentum but a lot more work has to be done,” he added.

At present, he said most Chinese investments in Malaysia were concentrated in the construction and real estate sectors. “We want it (investment) to be balanced. We want them to (invest) in the services and manufacturing and maybe automotive sectors too,” he added.

Mustapa will lead a three-day trade and investment mission to Guangzhou beginning on Sunday in conjunction with the 40th anniversary. He would then join the Prime Minister in Xian, where he would explore and encourage the export and trade of halal products.

The entourage would later move on to Beijing where MITI would co-organise an economic summit with China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Malaysia-China Business Council on May 31. Mustapa met his counterpart, China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, last weekend to ensure that the upcoming anniversary celebration was successful.

He said Gao had been very supportive and agreed to facilitate and arrange an exclusive meeting for the Prime Minister with at least 20 top Chinese businessmen.

“This is important because in the context of MH370 and to gain confidence of Chinese investors in Malaysia, as well as, in our efforts to increase Chinese investment in Malaysia.

“Hopefully, the economic summit will result in greater Chinese interest to invest in Malaysia,” he said.

It is expected that a memorandum of understanding on Convergence of the New Maritime Silk Road and Economic and Trade Cooperation between Malaysia and China will be signed at the economic summit.

In the past 10 years, bilateral trade between the two countries has witnessed a major shift in that commodities were no longer the major source of goods traded. Fifty per cent of trade now comprised manufactured products and other higher value-added goods. There is also a growing trend for major Malaysian conglomerates to increase their investments in China. — Bernama