CHINA, MALAYSIA CAN COOPERATE TOWARDS REALISING SUCCESSFUL INDUSTRIALISATION

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- China and Malaysia can cooperate towards
successful industrialisation, specially for the small and medium enterprises
(SMEs), says China's vice-minister of industry and information technology, Xi
Guohua.

China, he said, is in the process of promoting industrialisation and
information-based economy, to strengthen its competitiveness and set the
foundation for building an affluent society.

Xi said he met with officers from the Ministry of International Trade
and Industry (MITI) yesterday regarding China's industrial restructuring and
improvements in scientific innovation.

He was in Kuala Lumpur to attend the 10th Asean Telecommunications and
Information Technology Ministers' Meeting, which ended Friday.

China is one of Asean's Dialogue Partners.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Xi said Malaysia had shown great
interest in how, China promotes the future of industrialisation and information,
in the middle and western parts of the country.

China and Malaysia, he added, can share experiences and methods as both
countries are on the industrialisation path to economic growth.

"China and Malaysia are two countries which have a long-standing
relationship. Malaysia is the largest trading partner of China, among all the
Asean countries.

"Therefore, the discussion of cooperation in the industrial sector,
especially for the SMEs, will exert great impact on our future development," Xi
said.

He also highlighted that the China-Malaysia bilateral trade volume is
expected to reach US$50 billion in 2010. The bilateral trade between countries
in 2009 totalled US$36.34 billion.

According to Xi, MITI is also keen on cooperating with China to further
strengthen the SME sector as its plays an important role in driving
the economy of both countries.

"In China and Malaysia, the SMEs are contributing between 50-60 per cent of
the gross domestic product (GDP).In China, 80 per cent of the employment
opportunities are created by SMEs," he said.

Xi also invited Malaysian businessman to the China International SME Fair in
Guangzhou and China-Asean Expo in Nanning, to explore business opportunities in
the country as well as boost trade and investment.

On the 10th Asean Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers'
Meeting, Xi said information and communication technology (ICT), is an important
driver of industrialisation.

"As high energy consumption will not sustain in the future, we have to
employ high-tech applications, and ICT can play a role in transforming and
upgrading the traditional industry," he noted.

ICT, he said, can help improve corporate governance and the sales system by
connecting users with cutting-edge technologies while the internet will increase
operating efficiency.

"SMEs in China are lagging in this regard and the government has to do a
lot to help them, for example, building a public service platform for them," he
added.

Xi said ICT development, especially for the SMEs, is important for the
economic development of not only China, but also the Asean member countries
to benefit regional socio-economic development.

China, he said, is committed to cooperating with Asean to enhance ICT
development by focusing on six areas. Among these are are human resources
and broadband development.

Xi said the proposed Asean "Super Digital Corridor", similar to
China's Information Super-Highway concept, will promote the socio-economic
development of Asean-China, if the two ideas are combined.

--BERNAMA