on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and malaysia, young people of the two countries seek new development through friendly dialogue
2024-09-22
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
fu rui, reporter of china youth daily and china youth network
from september 19 to 22, malaysian king ibrahim paid a state visit to china. at the same time, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and malaysia and the "china-malaysia friendship year" youth friendship storytelling conference was also held in beijing.
in 1974, china and malaysia formally established diplomatic relations. over the past 50 years, china and malaysia have always worked hand in hand amidst the ever-changing international situation. after entering the 21st century, china-malaysia relations entered the fast lane of development, and china has been malaysia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. in 2023, the leaders of china and malaysia announced the joint construction of a china-malaysia community with a shared future, opening a new chapter in the relationship between the two countries.
at the meeting, chinese and malaysian youth expressed their willingness to carry forward the china-malaysia friendship, contribute their youthful strength to china-malaysia cooperation and development, promote the building of a china-malaysia community with a shared future to achieve new results, and make greater contributions to regional prosperity and stability.
on september 19, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and malaysia and the "china-malaysia friendship year" youth friendship storytelling conference was held simultaneously online and offline in beijing and kuala lumpur. photo provided by the organizer
jointly building the "belt and road" and interpreting the new concept of "win-win cooperation"
malaysia's east coast railway, kuala lumpur metro, penang cross-sea bridge, malaysia-china kuantan industrial park... under the framework of the joint construction of the "belt and road", landmark projects have sprung up one after another, becoming a concrete symbol of the friendship between china and malaysia. the stories behind these projects make the vision of the joint construction of the "belt and road" more vivid.
“this is the subway that my father helped build!” standing in the busy metro line 2 in kuala lumpur, malaysia, the daughter of dang yayun, deputy general manager of the 10th department of the cccc malaysia east rail project general manager department, said proudly.
after graduating from university in 2015, dang yayun was sent to malaysia. soon after, he participated in the bidding for the kuala lumpur metro line 2 rail engineering project. with the first place in technical bids, the cccc team successfully won the bid. today, tens of thousands of passengers travel through the subway he helped build every day.
in 2022, dang yayun came to kuantan from kuala lumpur again to participate in the track laying construction of the east coast railway project in malaysia. the project introduced a 500-meter long rail direct laying unit, which was the first time that mechanized track laying was used in malaysia. in the 500-meter long rail laying project, long rail welding is a difficult process that requires high standards for technicians. however, gu na, a local employee who has been engaged in welding since 2013, is full of confidence in this. in the words of dang yayun, "so far (gu na) has not delivered any unqualified welded joints." today, gu na's family has moved to kuantan, and he has devoted himself to the construction of the project.
"malaysia has become my second home." dang yayun is very proud of having dedicated nine years of his youth to the construction of malaysia. at the meeting, he pointed to the slides and said that these rails "symbolize the continuous extension of the friendship between china and malaysia."
according to dang yayun, during the implementation of the project, china recruited more than 300 local employees and trained a group of technical talents in the field of rail engineering for malaysia. he gave an example: local employee nisa joined the company in 2013 and now has become the rail project manager of china harbour engineering (a wholly-owned subsidiary of cccc engaged in overseas business). "this is a concrete manifestation of the concept of win-win cooperation in the joint construction of the 'belt and road' initiative."
azriel, a 25-year-old malaysian boy, is one of the beneficiaries of the "teaching a man to fish" cooperation concept. when he was a civil engineering student at the university of pahang, malaysia, he learned that cccc was carrying out the plki project, which aims to train 5,000 railway technical talents for malaysia. in october 2022, he applied to join the plki project and became one of the 1,200 trainees. "it was this decision that brought me to where i am today."
for azriel, joining the malaysia east rail project is not just a job, but also a journey that changes his mind and life. "my chinese master not only patiently taught me technical knowledge, but also told me that 'responsibility is often accompanied by sacrifice.'" azriel said that he learned the spirit of teamwork from the chinese and realized the importance of "safety" and "precision" for engineering projects. today, he has become a field engineer of the eighth division of the general manager's department of cccc malaysia east rail project.
going in both directions to build a bridge of people-to-people connectivity
in the pragmatic cooperation of jointly building the "belt and road", china and malaysia have not only achieved remarkable achievements in infrastructure connectivity, but also written one touching story after another of mutual understanding between the peoples.
one afternoon in june 2022, yao doushan, a chinese employee of the east coast rail link project in malaysia, returned to the project site after inspecting the construction site. on the way, he found a shop along the street on fire. he called the fire department immediately, but since the fire station was a certain distance away from the fire scene, it would take at least 15 minutes to drive there. to prevent the fire from spreading, he found a sprinkler truck and worked with the locals to control the fire and protect the lives and property of local residents.
“since the start of the malaysia east coast rail link project seven years ago, similar stories of mutual assistance between young people from the two countries have been happening.” the narrator of the story, jin qing, deputy business manager of the external relations department of the general manager’s office of cccc malaysia east coast rail link project, firmly believes that after completion, this railway running through the malaysian peninsula will not only become a road to wealth for the malaysian people, but also a future road connecting the hearts of the two peoples.
"zheng he made seven voyages to the west, of which he stayed in malacca at least five times. since then, china and malaysia have forged a deep friendship." zhao wanzhen, chinese director of the confucius institute at the university of malaya, pointed out that china and malaysia have many similarities in culture. for example, in june this year, china and malaysia jointly applied to include "lion dance" in the unesco intangible cultural heritage list, which is a reflection of this cultural commonality.
arif asirul, a lecturer at the raub campus of universiti teknologi mara, said that after entering the new era, china has put forward initiatives such as the global development initiative, the global security initiative and the global civilization initiative, which are highly consistent with the "prosperous malaysia" governing philosophy proposed by the new malaysian government. "the two sides will align their development visions, which will surely inject new impetus into the development of china-malaysia relations."
cultural exchanges are another important way to connect people's hearts. zhao wanzhen mentioned that with the continuous development of economic and trade relations between china and malaysia, cooperation in science and technology and education has continued to deepen. china has become the most attractive business partner in the world, and chinese technology companies such as huawei, zte, and alibaba are playing a key role in promoting malaysia's digital transformation. more and more young malaysians are going to china to learn about e-commerce and entrepreneurship, and malaysia has become one of the increasingly popular study abroad destinations for chinese students. the two-way rush of young people from the two countries has laid a solid foundation for expanding china-malaysia cooperation.
seize development opportunities and create a green future
green development is an important driving force for promoting high-quality development of the global economy. in june this year, the governments of china and malaysia issued a joint statement emphasizing that the two countries will seize the opportunity of developing new productivity such as green development and energy, and explore cooperation in advanced manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation, and entrepreneurship and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. from september 22 to 23, the united nations will hold a summit on the future at its headquarters in new york. its outcome document, the "compact for the future", will focus on key sustainable development issues such as sustainable development, scientific and technological innovation, youth and future generations, clarify the common position of the international community, and point out the direction for the improvement of global governance development.
in the wave of green development and technological innovation, young people from china and malaysia are moving forward hand in hand to jointly explore new development opportunities.
jiang mingshan, co-founder of china paint union coatings co., ltd., was inspired to develop environmentally friendly materials by an experience he and his partners had in a "high-temperature factory." "in 36°c weather, the factory not only gathered heat from the machines, but also heat from the human body," he recalled at the meeting. "the direct heat from the sun was unbearable."
can we find a green solution that is easy to construct, requires fewer steps, and is low-cost? in traditional concepts, "environmental protection" and "economy" seem to be incompatible, and protecting the environment must come at a high price. after careful research, jiang mingshan led his team to develop a new cheap spray material. according to him, this coating has a higher sunlight reflectivity and better heat insulation effect, which can effectively reduce the temperature indoors and on the sprayed surface. "this coating can not only reduce air conditioning energy consumption in areas with abundant electricity, but also alleviate power shortages and achieve energy conservation and emission reduction goals." in 2024, jiang mingshan set the product's "going overseas" target as asean countries.
wei zhihao, executive member of the malaysian youth council, said that in response to climate change, the malaysian government has pledged to reduce carbon emissions from the original 55% to 45% by 2030 and achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. currently, malaysia is implementing more than 4,000 green technology projects.
wei zhihao pointed out that as the business center of southeast asia, malaysia not only has rich green technology resources, but also has a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. "we now have about 4 billion in investment from foreign countries," wei zhihao said. malaysia is located in the center of southeast asia and has close exchanges with neighboring countries. the domestic rent and living costs are low, and it is relatively convenient to communicate in english. he extended an invitation to chinese entrepreneurs and investors: "i hope everyone will join malaysia's vibrant start-ups!"
the visit of the malaysian king to china has given zhao wanzhen confidence in the future. "although china and malaysia may be affected by global economic uncertainty, market fluctuations and geopolitical factors, the relationship between the two countries has shown strong resilience." she believes that this visit will further promote the construction of a community with a shared future between china and malaysia, bring more benefits to the people of the two countries, and make greater contributions to regional prosperity and stability.
source: china youth daily client
