KOTA KINABALU: China’s trade volume with Sabah has increased by 1.2% to RM6.56bil in the first half of this year, according to Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.
Hajiji stated that as the economic and trade cooperation between Malaysia and China continues to progress, the state government seeks more trade and investments from China in Sabah.
During China’s 74th National Day Celebration organized by the Consulate General of China in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday (Sept 21) night, Hajiji revealed that China is currently Malaysia’s largest trading partner, while Malaysia ranks highly among China’s trading partners in Southeast Asia.
“Therefore, there is much to be done to strengthen and align Sabah’s development strategies with China, combining the realisation of Chinese modernisation with Malaysia Madani and Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) aspirations,” he said.
In his absence, the speech was delivered by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam.
Hajiji also expressed Sabah’s interest in further cooperation with China in areas such as green energy, manufacturing, high technology agriculture, and smart city construction to promote mutual benefit and private-public partnerships.
Regarding tourism, Hajiji noted that arrivals from China have been steadily increasing since China’s border fully reopened in March this year.
“For the first six months of this year, Chinese visitors numbered 17,040 (an increase of 680.6%) compared to only 2,188 arrivals in the corresponding period last year.
“Sabah is connected to seven major cities in China with 54 weekly flights and a seat capacity of 9,861.
“We hope to see more air connectivity to increase visitor arrivals from China to Sabah. We are pleased that Sabah has remained a sought-after destination for Chinese visitors, either for leisure or business,” he added.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
