On January 26, Ambassador Ouyang Yujing attended the Forum on Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity in Kuala Lumpur and delivered a speech. The full text as follows:
Honorable Mr. Loke Siew Fook, Minister of Transport, Malaysia,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!
It is my pleasure to join you at the Forum themed “Building a High-level Strategic China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Future” in the first month of Year 2026. People come to this forum exchanging ideas on China and Malaysia's development, and share thoughts on international affairs. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Malaysian Government and Mr. Loke Siew Fook. It is their firm and generous support that has enabled the smooth progress of China-Malaysia relations. My appreciation also goes to SEARCH and the Malaysia Friends of Silk Road Club who have taken great efforts to bring this great event to us. Thank you!
Year 2025 is a milestone one marking impressive achievements in China-Malaysia relations.
In this year, political trust was further consolidated. President Xi Jinping made his second state visit to Malaysia after his first one 12 years ago, during which China-Malaysia relations were elevated to the new height of building the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future. Steered by leadership of both countries, China and Malaysia had frequent high-level visits on bilateral and multilateral occasions, who support each other in hosting major diplomatic events and encourage visits of all levels and fields. Premier Li Qiang visited Malaysia twice in 2025 attending serials of regional summits, marking a record of three times of visiting Malaysia within one and a half years. Prime Minister Anwar’s visit to China is no less. His last September visit marked his fourth visit to China since taking office. High-level visits of such high frequency is rare in China’s overall foreign relations, showing the extraordinary China-Malaysia friendly ties cherished by both sides, who constantly supported each other on bilateral and multilateral occasions of significance.
In this year, win-win cooperation brought more benefits to people of both countries. Year 2025 marked China being Malaysia’s largest trading partner for the 17th consecutive year, whose bilateral trade volume scaling to near 200 billion U.S. dollars. The two countries took joint efforts implementing BRI projects and advancing the development of new quality productive forces. Fruitful results have been achieved in digital economy, green development, new energy vehicles, data centers, and artificial intelligence, etc. Now, the Gemas-Johor Bahru Electrified Double-Tracking Rail Upgrade Project has successfully completed; the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) has achieved 90% completion; the second 5G network jointly constructed by Huawei and ZTE is progressing well with 60% completion, and the “Two Countries, Two Parks” continued to prosper, all of which contributed a great deal to country-to-country connectivity, and added much to local employment and economic growth.
In this year, increased people-to-people exchanges deepened mutual understanding. Mutual visa exemption boomed two-way China-Malaysia tourism, marking 4.66 million Chinese visits to Malaysia in 2025, seeing 716 flights shuttling between the two countries every week, with both being historic highs. Year 2025 also saw the global launch of “Happy Chinese New Year” in Kuala Lumpur, the continued round of “Confucianism-Islam Civilizational Dialogue”, and the establishment of the first Confucius Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Malaysia. All these achievements are made due to collective efforts of both countries who dearly value harmonious coexistence of civilizations and people of different ethnic groups. Just recently, Chen Xing and Xiao Yue, the new pair of giant pandas travelled all the way from China to Malaysia. Now they have started their happy life of cute “Friendship ambassadors” in Zoo Negara Malaysia.
Year 2025 is a year of accomplishment marking the conclusion of China's 14th Five-Year Plan of economic and social development.
Uniting all ethnic groups and guided by scientific knowledge, the Communist Party of China formulated and implemented 14 five-year plans from 1953 to 2025. China realized enormous economic and social development by implementing the 14 five-year plans, who has achieved great progress in comprehensive national strength and enormously enhanced people’s livelihood. China has created two wonders, which is rapid economic development in tandem with long-term social stability. Now, China is advancing in big strides on its way to modernization.
The 14th five year plan witnessed China realizing the aim of becoming a moderately prosperous society in all respects, who is now embarking on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects. The past five years had seen China making historic achievements in economy, science and technology, national defence, and comprehensive strength due to its pioneering efforts and ground-breaking transformation. Chinese people are now better taken care of, happier and safer than before.
First, China’s economic strength grew significantly. China’s high-quality development strategy turned out to be a great success, fulfilling major aims and registering continuous achievements, showing that China’s economy is a resilient and strong, which can progress under pressure. China’s GDP in 2025 crossed the threshold of 140 trillion yuan, with per capita GDP hitting 13,953 U.S. dollars. China’s total economic growth in last five years exceeded 35 trillion yuan, achieving an average annual growth rate of around 5.4%, ahead of all other major economies.
Second, China’s innovation-driven development marked remarkable progress. With continued increase of research & development expenditure, China’s sci-tech capabilities kept growing, progressing with cutting-edge technologies and innovations in important sectors such as integrated circuits, AI, and quantum communication, etc. In 2025, China is home to 1509 AI models, accounting for more than 40% of the world’s total, ranking top in the world. Open-source AI models developed by Chinese companies captured 17.1% of global downloads, ranking top in the world. China also holds the largest share of world’s published generative AI patents, enjoying as high as 61.5% share.
Third, Chinese people’s livelihood have improved enormously. Chinese people’s disposable income per capita has increased from 32,000 yuan in 2020 to 43,000 yuan in 2025, seeing a 5% plus average growth rate per year, just in tandem with the economic growth. More than 60 million new jobs were created in urban areas, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate remained below 5.5%. China has built the world’s largest systems of education, health care, and social security, who ensured the nine-year compulsory education retention rate, primary pension insurance rate and basic medical insurance rate all above 95%.
Fourth, China actively took the path of green development. China’s ecological environment kept improving. The forest coverage rate has increased to over 25%, contributing one quarter of the world’s new forest area. Days of good and excellent air quality take up 87% of all. Proportion of surface-water sections nationwide classified as excellent water quality reached over 90%. China has accelerated its pace of green and low-carbon transition, who has built the world’s largest clean power supply system, clean steel production system, renewable energy system, and carbon emissions trading market. In 2025, China’s new energy vehicles’ production and sale exceeded 16 million units, maintaining global leadership for the 11th consecutive year.
Year 2025 marked China’s efforts of contributing to global good governance, who kept injecting stability and certainty to ease the turbulent world. First, China helped to invigorate global economy with its own modernization achievements. China has been the world’s second-largest economy and consumer market, who is also the world’s largest manufacturer, trader in goods, and holder of foreign exchange reserves. China’s economy accounted for around 17% of that of the world, contributing roughly 30% to global economic growth every year. China is the major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions, who kept protecting global supply chains with its comprehensive industrial sectors, and maintaining global economic resilience by opening its super-large market. China is the strong driver and stabilizer of global economy, whose contribution to world peace and development is invaluable.
Second, China is firmly committed to expanding high-standard opening up. China upholds openness and win-win cooperation, sharing its super-large market and vast investment opportunities with the rest of the world. China is successful hosts of many important major international trade and economic events, such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE), China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), and China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), to list just a few. China’s negative list for foreign investment has been further shortened in 2025. In the same year, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol was officially signed. In December 2025, island-wide special customs operations were launched in the Hainan Free Trade Port. China opened its door wider by expanding the visa exemption country list, improving people-to-people exchanges and economic and trade cooperation. To date, unilateral visa waver is extended to 48 countries and visa-free transit to 55. In the first three quarters of 2025, more than 20 million visa-free entries in China were recorded, registering an increase of over 50% than that of last year.
Third, China continued to advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. 2025 is a critical year in global geopolitical evolution, which saw conflicts and contradictions crowding and colliding amid historical transformations. Global turmoil and instability were exacerbated. Hegemonism and power politics were on the rise severely damaging the international rule of law and the established global institutional infrastructure. Economic globalization faced serious setbacks. The tariff war posed blows to international trade rules which severely disrupted global economic order. Local wars and cross-border conflicts flared up here and there, adding to Geopolitical volatility.
Against such backdrop, China upheld high building the global community with a shared future for humanity and took great efforts to jointly implement the four global Initiatives of Development, Security, Civilization, and Governance. China is committed to advocating an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. China advocated firmly safeguarding international fairness and justice; who is dedicated to making the international order a more just and equitable one. China is committed to building an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Year 2026 marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and the 13th Malaysia Plan, providing important opportunities for both countries to keep the favorable development momentum. Join hands, we will elevate building the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future to a new height.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will continue its modernization process amid global transformations. Aligning its own interests with the rest of the world, China will continue to advance its modernization and keep sharing its development achievements with the rest of the world to help prosper development of all. China will continue to give full play to the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and make full use of unique its advantages of the super-large market, comprehensive industrial sectors, and abundant human resources to achieve common development of all. China will continue to drive sci-tech innovation and build a modernized industrial system. China will accelerate green transition across the board, expand institutional opening up, encourage trade innovation and development, and share more opportunities of investment with the rest of the world. China is ready to advance high-quality BRI cooperation, share opportunities, seek common development, and jointly shape a shared future with Malaysia and the rest of the world.
Guided by the important consensus reached by leaders of both countries, China stands ready to work with Malaysia to further consolidate political mutual trust, advance strategic communications, and expand political and security cooperation. China will align its 15th Five-Year Plan with the 13th Malaysia Plan. Jointly, China and Malaysia will enhance economic and trade cooperation, better implement high-quality BRI projects such as the ECRL, uncover cooperation potential in cutting-edge fields such as AI, advanced manufacturing, quantum technology and new energy. Join hands, we will foster new regional hubs for the development of new quality productive forces.
China looks forward to working with Malaysia in building Asia into a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home for all, and advancing the building of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. China and Malaysia will strengthen cooperation and coordination in international and regional cooperation frameworks, such as the United Nations, APEC, and East Asia Cooperation. The two countries should cooperate closely implementing the four global initiatives, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and contribute more to building an equal and orderly multipolar world by providing Asian wisdom.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since establishing diplomatic ties 50 plus years ago, China-Malaysia relations have always been at the forefront of country-to-country relations in the region, setting an exemplar of win-win cooperation. Through joint efforts, China-Malaysia relationship is at its best in history. Now, we are stepping into another “Golden 50 Years” in China-Malaysia relations. We have strong confidence to write a bright chapter in building the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future. Working together, we will bring more benefits to people of both countries and contribute more to regional peace, stability and progress.
Now, the lunar Chinese New Year of the Horse is approaching, I extend my best new year greetings to all. Wish you good luck, happiness and a great success in Year 2026! Wish the forum a great success!
Thank you!