MALAYSIA and China are close friends. That friendship has got even closer with His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia's visit to the republic from Sept 19 to 22 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
Furthermore, the royal visit comes at a time when both countries are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations, first initiated on May 30, 1974.
Though the king's visit is the first by Malaysia's monarch in 10 years, many opportunities have been opened up following His Majesty's discussions with Xi and Premier Li Qiang.
Today, as a result of His Majesty's visit to the republic in this golden jubilee year, the areas of opportunities have grown to include education, trade, investment, transport and connectivity.
"I hope the government will examine the results of the visit and take appropriate measures in the areas discussed," Bernama quoted the king yesterday as telling the Royal Press Office. The government will do well to do exactly that.
Sultan Ibrahim is right. China has many examples for Malaysia to follow. One is its economy, which its leaders have developed into the world's second largest.
Not that Malaysia can grow its economy to such an extent in as many years. But there are lessons there our policymakers can adopt. For sure, China's economy faces several challenges. Which economy doesn't. Such lessons will also be something for us to learn from. Truth be told, Malaysia is stuck in the middle-income trap.
Putrajaya may be able to find a way out of this by looking east to Beijing. Consider transport and connectivity in the public and private sectors. Both have been going smart for some time now.
A transport revolution is happening there. Beijing is bidding a quick goodbye to internal combustion engines. Figures out of China tell us that Chinese car manufacturers are producing more electric cars than anyone else.
Bus manufacturers are doing even better by exporting them. According to The Economist, of the 400,000 electric buses in circulation in more than 300 cities around the world in 2019, most were made in China. The high-speed rail (HSR) system in China echoes a similar upward trend.
According to Statista, a data provider, as of November last year, China had 23,700km of HSR tracks, accounting for 28.1 per cent of the country's total rail network. It is also the longest HSR network in the world.
As the British newspaper notes, a big shift is happening in the sector: tech companies are getting into the driver's seat, not vehicle makers. One outcome of this is the deployment of driverless shuttles in Chinese cities.
"Made in China 2025" is working. It is bringing together in one seamless ecosystem, mobility and connectivity. Malaysia may need to make that happen here.
The question of how is one for policymakers to think deeply about. For sure, Malaysia is not China. It is huge in size and population. Consumption is a big factor in growing China into the second-biggest economy in the world, thanks to 1.4 billion people.
This is no message to go forth and multiply. A nation of 34 million people can be prosperous and happy, too. Look east to China and be Malaysia still. Just as Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia has ordered.