KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's economic resilience and its ability to support the economic growth of its trade partners, including Malaysia, through its vast manufacturing capacity and huge consumer base, will be a key stabilizing force for regional supply chains and industrial growth, according to a Malaysian business group.
Not only has China demonstrated itself as a strong and reliable trade and economic partner, but its active hosting of trade and business expositions such as the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) provides a solid platform for further cooperation and vital business-to-business and people-to-people exchanges, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) President Jacob Lee Chor Kok told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.
"Amid rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, China continues to demonstrate underlying resilience supported by its scale, policy continuity and deep industrial ecosystem. From Malaysia's perspective, this resilience is reflected in strong and sustained economic linkages," he said.
He mentioned that China has remained Malaysia's largest trading partner for years, which "underscores the durability of integration between the two economies even amid global uncertainty, reinforcing China's role within regional manufacturing and supply chain networks," he said.
Lee said that Malaysian manufacturers see China as both a major market and a critical production base which offers scale, efficiency and highly integrated supply chains with many FMM member companies adopting a "China for China and China for global supply" strategy, anchoring operations in China while complementing diversification efforts.
Looking ahead, Lee said China's continued opening-up will have long-term implications for global manufacturing by reinforcing supply chain connectivity, accelerating innovation through scale and speed of adoption, and strengthening industrial linkages across Asia, including with Malaysia.
"For Malaysian manufacturers, sustained engagement with China, alongside diversification strategies, remains essential to building resilient and future-ready manufacturing ecosystems," he said.
The sixth China International Consumer Products Expo runs from April 13-18 in south China's Hainan Province. ■