KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday that Sarawak-based Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s special envoy to China.
Tiong, who is the Member of Parliament for Bintulu, previously served as the Prime Minister’s special envoy to East Asia from 2014 to 2018.
The ministerial level role will see Tiong tasked with strengthening bilateral ties between both countries, especially in terms of commerce, trade and investments.
Malaysia-China bilateral trade was reported to have hit a record high of US$124 billion (RM674.5 billion) in 2019, up 14.2 per cent from US$108.66 billion (RM590.6 billion) recorded in 2018.
China remains Malaysia’s largest trading partner, followed by Singapore and the United States.