PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and China have agreed to establish a Joint Working Group on Single Window Cooperation to identify the best strategies for implementing single window cooperation.
This initiative, spearheaded by the Finance Ministry under the National Single Window (NSW) programme, was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, highlighted that the single window cooperation could significantly enhance the efficiency of cross-border trade clearance.
This would be achieved by digitalising trade regulatory processes, eliminating redundant documentation, and facilitating seamless and accurate information exchange among stakeholders and trade partners.
"Efforts to develop single window cooperation also fulfil the Madani Economy framework's aspirations, which emphasise digital transformation and ease of doing business as key thrusts to accelerate economic development," he said in a statement.
The agreement on single window cooperation was formalised in a Joint Statement by the Finance Ministry and the General Administration of Customs of China.
The statement was signed by Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan and China's Minister of General Administration of Customs, Yu Jianhua.
Anwar hosted an official visit from China's Premier Li Qiang at Perdana Putra here today, marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.
Earlier, the two leaders held a closed-door meeting to discuss bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
A key outcome of the discussions was a commitment from both nations to enhance and diversify their trade activities.
In the first quarter of 2024, Malaysia's trade with China increased to RM112.28 billion, up from RM108.66 billion the previous year.
This included RM44.5 billion in exports from Malaysia to China and RM67.78 billion in imports from China.