Malaysia's Jan-June Trade With China's Yunnan Province Hits US$173 Million

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Total trade between Malaysia and China's Yunnan Province hit US$173 million (RM715.85 million) for the period from January to June this year, said Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong. He said the trade mainly comprised agriculture-based products and commodities, and Malaysia is keen to increase the trade volume especially in tourism and attract more investments from Yunnan into the country. "I urge them to see Malaysia as their gateway to ASEAN, which has a population of over 600 million, considering among the countries in the region Malaysia enjoys the best relations with China," he said after opening the China-Malaysia Trade Fair Conference Wednesday. Chua said the two countries' target of raising bilateral trade to US$160 billion (RM662.02 billion) by 2017 will probably not be achieved due to the decline in global trade and China's slowing economy. He noted that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has cut its global trade growth projection this year to 1-2 per cent from 2-3 per cent previously. "This shows it's not just Malaysia that is seeing a decline in exports but other countries are also affected by the global economic slowdown," he added. The one-day conference is organised by the Association for Economic Cooperation and Trade Promotion between Yunnan and Southeast and South Asia. -- BERNAMA