Malaysia-China cooperation drives resource processing growth

China’s technological and industrial strength, coupled with its ability to support skills development and industrial scaling, is an important factor for bilateral cooperation with Malaysia in resource processing and high-value manufacturing, according to a Malaysian expert.

Syed Muhammad Ibad, a geoscientist and environmental geologist at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Malaysia is well positioned to expand its resource processing industry. Its wealth of natural resources provides a solid foundation for expanding processing activities and moving further up the industrial value chain.

“China’s advantage lies in decades of research and development, specialised research institutes, and universities that directly channel trained engineers into industry, continuously improving efficiency and cost competitiveness,” he said.

Opportunities for deeper Malaysia-China cooperation lie in the complementary strengths of the two countries, particularly in resource processing, technology development, industrial capacity building, and human resource development, Syed Muhammad said.

Such cooperation can help combine technological expertise with resource and industrial advantages and accelerate the development of its processing sector, he added.

He also identified human resource development as another important area of cooperation, highlighting China’s well-established ecosystem of universities and specialised research institutes, which provide skilled graduates to meet the needs of related industries.