The 2024 China-ASEAN Economic Seminar, held on a Sunday, 21 April 2024, from 9 am to 6 pm, turned out to be a crowd-pleaser. Participants from various backgrounds gathered, listened closely, and asked engaging questions throughout the event. The seminar began with the ceremonial national anthem of Malaysia and China, followed by representatives of the three co-hosts who delivered their welcoming remarks.  

Tan Sri Ong Tee Keat, a Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Malaysia, who currently serves as the President of BRICAP, kickstarted the seminar with his welcoming remarks, calling for strengthening and broadening the areas of cooperation to allow for an improved supply chain integration between China and ASEAN countries. His statement was echoed by Professor Zheng Yongnian, the Board Director of GIG when he delivered his welcoming remarks via an online message.  

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Sunway University’s own Professor Mahendhiran Nair, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Sustainability, highlighted to all participants that the seminar is not just a forum for academic and theoretical debate, but also a platform for practical, actionable insights, and exploring strategies to enhance policy coordination, develop sustainable partnerships, and promote technological and industrial collaboration. He also reiterated that countries and corporations at large should move on from a less sustainable mindset of return-on-investment, into a more sustainable return-on-value, something that has become integral to his research and the spirit of Sunway University as a whole.

The seminar was followed by a Keynote Address from His Excellency Zheng Xuefang, a Minister at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malaysia, as he underscored Sunway University’s commitment to fostering dialogue and collaboration between China and ASEAN by providing a platform for policymakers, academics and industry leaders that will allow exchanging insights, ideas and opportunities. It is a pivotal role that Sunway University actively plays a part in shaping the future of regional cooperation and economic integration.

The seminar had three different panel sessions, mainly discussing the topics surrounding the area of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership in an era of geopolitical shifts, exploring the feasibility of a China-ASEAN common market, and how to enhance industrial collaborations through digital economy, NEVs, and advanced manufacturing.  

Our own Professor Shandre Mugan Thangavelu, Head of the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia, contributed to the first panel of the day and highlighted some of the pressing issues related to the global value chain (GVC) disruptions during the post-pandemic recovery. He also mentioned that there will be a structural transformation in China to higher value-added activities in the GVC to manage the decoupling effects, through fostering more innovation and more complex GVC activities. The key issue for ASEAN, however, is whether we will observe greater technology transfer from China as there are currently limited technological spillover from China when compared to Japan and Korea. He finally added that China could strengthen their GVC activities through greater investment in both soft and hard infrastructure in ASEAN countries, as ASEAN still mostly operates in less complex GVC.

In the second panel session, SBS’s Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Education), Associate Professor Dr Calvin Cheong Wing Hoh, delivered his raw, unscripted and entertaining insights on how practically he viewed the feasibility of a China-ASEAN common market. His down-to-earth explanations on the topic lightened the mood of the session. During the third panel session, Professor Mahendhiran Nair joined the stage one more time and delivered a compelling presentation related to how Malaysia plans to transform in achieving prosperity, societal well-being and global competitiveness through the 10-10 Malaysian Science, Technology, Innovation and Economy (MySTIE) framework, as he was one of the main subject matter experts that created said framework. This highlighted some of the key areas in which China and Malaysia may collaborate together.

The seminar was closed with a special appearance by Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, more widely known by his nickname ‘TokPa’, a Former Malaysian Cabinet Minister, who currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Headquarters of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) at Sunway University. This session was moderated by Dato Ong Chong Yi, Executive Director of BRICAP, and Former Minister Counsellor (Economic Affairs) to the Embassy of Malaysia in the People’s Republic of China. 

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Dr Stella Ong Kim Yoke
Sunway Business School
Email: @email

Dr Nampuna Dolok Gultom
Sunway Business School
Email: [email protected]