Asean car among plans discussed at meeting

By Sharen Kaur
Reporting from Beijing

STRENGTHENING BILATERAL TIES: Malaysia keen to work with China

 MALAYSIA is discussing several proposals with China, including a plan to develop an Asean car, to deepen bilateral ties between the two nations.

  Two meetings were held on Monday at the Great Hall of the People here between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao.

  Accompanying Dr Mahathir was Country Heights Holdings Bhd founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, Malaysian Ambassador to China Datuk Iskandar Sarudin, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute chief executive officer and World Chinese Economic Forum chairman Tan Sri Michael Yeoh.

  Yeoh said Malaysia is interested in forming a joint venture with a Chinese carmaker to develop the Asean car.

  Business Times reported last year that national car manufacturer Proton Holdings Bhd is expected to be a key driver of the Asean car development plan.

  Dr Mahathir, who is Proton adviser, also talked about the Lotus 4S centre here.  Proton, a subsidiary of DRB-HICOM Bhd, opened the Lotus 4S centre  on Tuesday in a bid to improve sales of Lotus cars and spare parts in the Chinese market.

  According to Lee,  Dr Mahathir and Li also discussed the rubber city project in the Thai-Malaysian border, and the setting-up of the Zheng Ho Multicultural and Economic Association (ZHMEA).

  He said a key development during the discussion was the go-ahead to set up ZHMEA, an idea mooted by Dr Mahathir.

  Lee, who is chairman of ZHMEA, said the association will strengthen ties between Malaysia and China, and other countries in the Asia Pacific.

  “The setting-up of ZHMEA is  timely and important. It will help  create new economies for both  countries and generate billions of  dollars in  new investments.

  “We expect ZHMEA to also encourage budding entrepreneurs to come into the market with new ideas and businesses,” Lee told Business Times, here, on Monday.

    Lee said ZHMEA is in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative to boost connectivity between the Asia-Pacific   and  Indian Ocean regions.

  “We expect ZHMEA to be formed in Malaysia in the third or fourth quarter of this year,”  he added.