Sarawak-China Trade At RM15.8 Bln Last Year: Chief Minister

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia) Aug 6 (Bernama) -- Trade between Sarawak and China stood at RM15.8 billion last year, with Sarawak’s exports recorded at RM10.1 billion while imports amounted to RM5.7 billion. Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said the business collaboration between the two countries is in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and petroleum products, palm oil, timber products and electrical components, manufactured goods, machinery and food. He said as China is leading in innovation and showcases the acceleration of its economic transformation through the Digital Economy, Sarawak believes that there are opportunities for the state to learn from the country in transforming its economy through the Digital Economy. “Especially Small and Medium Industries, they need to benchmark or adopt a similar business model in order to be successful in e-Commerce. With online presence, the world is our market,” he said in his keynote address at the Sarawak-China Business Forum here Monday. He pointed out that Sarawak is aiming for the Digital Economy to contribute 17.4 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025, while for this year the contribution of the Digital Economy to GDP is expected to be at 2.3 per cent. Abang Johari said China and Sarawak share similar challenges in encouraging rural communities to adopt e-Commerce. “With higher penetration of mobile users in Malaysia and in Sarawak in particular, we need innovative solutions to reach the people in rural areas. We believe these are some of the areas that Sarawak and China can work together,” he added. He said other areas of cooperation are agriculture, tourism, health, education, construction of mega-structures and e-Commerce. He further stressed his confidence that with China’s support and cooperation, Sarawak will be able to realise the transformation of the state’s economy through Digital Economy initiatives. The two-day forum, organised by Sarawak’s Ministry of International Trade and e-Commerce with the support of the Consulate General People’s Republic of China’office, aimed to be a platform for businessmen from China and Sarawak to exchange potential business ideas and proposals to spur future partnerships and collaborations. -- BERNAMA