On Sept 14, Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China and Chairman of the Malaysia-China Business Council, led a Malaysian delegation to Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, on a business study tour. Tan Sri Ong and his delegation met with Shaanxi CCP Secretary Mr Zhao Leji and they had discussion to explore opportunities for co-operation in the fields of tourism, culture, science and technology.
Mr Zhao, in his welcome speech, pointed out that because of its geographical advantage, rich historical background and a strong science and technological base, Shaanxi was going through rapid socio-economic development. He thus hoped that the Malaysian business group could do more exploratory studies in order to widen and strengthen mutual economic co-operation.
He welcomes more Malaysians to invest in Shaanxi while at the same time, encourages Shaanxi investors to look out for development opportunities in Malaysia.
Tan Sri Ong expressed his thankfulness for the warm hospitality. He also expressed his admiration of the remarkable achievements in Shaanxi’s socio-economic development. He noted in particular the high-tech district of Xi’an which he said was an eye-opener in terms of innovation and special features. With such special features and unique qualities, the new district was well positioned to attract investments from world-renown enterprises and because of this, he expressed full confidence of its potential.
Tan Sri Ong also pointed out that Malaysia and Shaanxi can be complementary to each other in economic development as both have a large Muslim population. He pledged to play the bridging role in promoting mutual co-operation as the potential could be huge.
In early August, Mr Zhao led a delegation to Malaysia when he had discussions with Tan Sri Ong on economic co-operation. During the current visit to Xi’an, Tan Sri Ong was able to have a better insight into the business environment of Xi’an which is important in enhancing economic ties between Malaysia and Shaanxi.
