CHINA sees strong potential to deepen industrial, technological and people-to-people collaboration with Penang, Kedah, Perak and Perlis as its next five-year development plan aligns closely with Malaysia’s own growth priorities. Chinese Consul-General in Penang Zhou Youbin said in an interview that China’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, which will run from this year, placed heavy emphasis on high-quality growth, technological self-reliance and emerging industries. Zhou: Chinese investment shifted to automated, tech intensive and environmentally friendly sectors. He said Chinese companies in sectors such as photovoltaics, electric vehicles and lithium batteries had in recent years expanded their presence in northern Malaysia. These clusters, he said, had attracted more upstream and downstream players, helping to build more complete industrial ecosystems and becoming key highlights of investment cooperation between the two sides.

Source: The Star February 03, 2026 08:37 UTC