TAR UC and Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (‘SASS’) have successfully entered the next phase of a joint research project entitled “Belt and Road Initiative and Shanghai Free Trade Zone Strategies”, which focuses on the opportunities, challenges and prospects for Malaysia.
As part of the joint research venture, TAR UC and SASS jointly organised two separate online discussions with the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (‘MayCham’) on 14 August 2021 and the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (‘ACCCIM’) on 20 August 2021.
Invited interviewees included Dato’ Low Kian Chuan, President of National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (‘NCCIM’) cum President of ACCCIM, Mr Teoh Kok Lin, Chairman of Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) Committee under the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuala Lumpur Selangor (one of the Constituent Chambers of ACCCIM), Mr Will Fung and Mr Lee Yaw Chyi, Chairman and Treasurer of MayCham respectively.
In his welcoming speech, Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei, President of TAR UC, expressed his hope that this joint research will further strengthen bilateral relations between both institutions. “Not only will this sharing of knowledge from research benefit the socio-economic development of Malaysia and China, but also strengthen the relations between the research team.”
Prof Shen Kaiyan, Director of Institute of Economics at SASS also expressed her delight that the joint-research project has entered the next phase and that the outcome of it would play a pivotal role in the development of Belt and Road Initiatives (‘BRI’) and the construction of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (‘FTZ’).
“Due to the pandemic, we have not been able to proceed as we initially planned since formalising our research collaboration with TAR UC in December 2019. Fortunately, with the conveniences of modern technology our research was not hindered for too long.”
During the first discussion session with Maycham, Mr Will Fung and Mr Lee Yaw Chyi, spoke about business policies, capital controls and shared about issues Malaysian businesses and trades could potentially face when venturing into the China market. In the second discussion session, Dato’ Low Kian Chuan and Mr Teoh Kok Lin shared the challenges and difficulties encountered by Malaysian businesses when doing trade and investment in China. Additionally, they also shared the advantages of China's investment in Malaysian businesses.
After the discussion sessions, Assoc Prof Dr Ng Swee Chin, Vice President of TAR UC, thanked the interviewees for sharing their knowledge and the invaluable insight they had provided. She also noted that the outcome of the joint research will be shared with all parties for their own benefit.
The second phase of the research project is scheduled to be carried out over a period of 6 months, from March to September 2021. Research methodology for this phase includes online interviews with focus groups, interviews with representatives from multinational companies, data analysis, trade matching as well as ongoing discussions with Malaysian government agency.
