Seminar promotes cooperation on Two Countries, Twin Parks

The Fifth Seminar on Twin Parks Cooperation between China and Malaysia (Two Countries, Twin Parks 第五届 “中马两国双园合作”学术研讨会) was jointly organised by Guangxi University for Nationalities (GXUN) and UTAR on 16 December 2022 through VOOV Meeting.

Themed ‘Promoting the Practical cooperation of “Two Countries Twin Parks”, Building an upgraded version of “Two Countries Twin Parks”’, the seminar aimed to promote the exchange and interaction of China-Malaysia “two-country, twin-park cooperation” academically and promote the continuous and in-depth development of China-Malaysia industrial cooperation.

The meeting was streamed from Nanning to Qinzhou, Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan. There were also guests and participants from Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), China Construction Bank (Malaysia) and China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park (CMQIP) Administrative Committee at the seminar.

At the opening ceremony, GXUN President Xie Shangguo, UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat, China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park (CMQIP) Administrative Committee Deputy Director General Liu Xiang and Guangxi China Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park Investment Holding Group Chairman Huang Kehong were invited to deliver their speeches respectively.

Prof Dato’ Ewe expressing his gratitude to all the organising parties

Prof Dato’ Ewe, in his welcome speech, expressed his gratitude to all the organising parties from China and Malaysia for making the event successful. He said, “UTAR is honoured to be one of the organisers once again and promote the continuous and in-depth development of China-Malaysia industrial cooperation. As the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park enters its tenth anniversary, I believe through the combination of business activities and academic seminars, it will continue to play an active role in promoting industrial optimisation and upgrading, improving enterprise efficiency, promoting bilateral trade and guiding enterprises to invest in overseas.”

He also hoped that all participants would make use of the opportunity to share their experiences, find a point of convergence, and actively discuss and exchange ideas for the development of the twin parks in the post-pandemic era. Prof Dato’ Ewe emphasised, “The development of ‘Two Countries, Twin Parks’ is a highly valued flagship project for cooperation. It has always required more exchanges and high-quality talents through industry-university-research cooperation; academic exchanges; human resources training and other cooperation activities. The connection between the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park will strengthen industry-university cooperation and a broader development platform for the talents of both countries while promoting China-Malaysia economic cooperation.”

Seven keynote speakers were invited to speak at the seminar; all of them were experts and professionals from the industry and academia. The keynote presentations were divided into two sessions— keynote session 1 and keynote session 2 respectively.

Keynote session 1 was comprised of experts and scholars from GXUN and China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park. Huang presented on “The 10th anniversary of Two Countries, Twin Parks: new thinking and new upgrades <两国双园十周年：新的思考与新的升级>; GXUN academic Zheng YiSheng presented on “Innovating the cross-border and cross-regional investment channels of China and Malaysia Twin Parks - using overseas ‘Guangxi People’ resources as a perspective <创新中马两园跨境跨区域投资渠道—以海外 “广西人” 资源为视角> ”; GXUN academic 杨菁华博士后 presented on “Research on the transnational operational capability of companies from the perspective of corporate anthropology 企业人类学视域下公司跨国经营能力研究”; GXUN Master’s student董晓丹 presented on “China-Malaysia cultural exchanges from the perspective of a community with a shared future for mankind <人类命运共同体视域下的中马文化交流>”.

They conducted in-depth discussions on the upgraded version of the China-Malaysia Twin Parks, the cross-border and cross-regional investment channels of the China-Malaysia Twin Parks, the company’s transnational operation capabilities, and the cultural exchanges between China and Malaysia to review the China-Malaysia Twin Parks. The session provided a new perspective on the status quo and the difficulties of China-Malaysia cooperation and development besides exploring new forms of in-depth cooperation between the two countries.

Keynote session 2 was comprised of scholars and experts from UTAR and representatives from Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.  China Construction Bank (Malaysia) Berhad Senior Vice President贾鹏 presented on “CCB new finance supports Twin Countries and Twin Parks <建行新金融支持两国双园>”; Malaysia–China Kuantan Industrial Park representative杨露伊presented on “Malaysia-China Kuantan International Logistics Park: win-win new business opportunities for China and Malaysia <马中关丹国际物流园：共赢中马商业新机遇>”; UTAR Department of Economics lecturer Dr Tun Yin Li presented on “Comparative tax study among ASEAN countries <东盟成员国之间的企业>”; and Centre for International Studies Chairperson Dr Tan Wooi Yee presented on “Malaysia’s China policy in the evolving political situation (2018-2022) <马来西亚政局演变中的对华政策（2018-2022)>”.

The session also saw them jointly discussing issues such as corporate taxation among ASEAN members, the business model of Malaysia-China Kuantan International Logistics Park, Malaysia’s policy toward China in the evolution of the political situation and new direction, and others.