- 2 days ago
ASEAN, Perhimpunan Negara-negara Asia Tenggara, terdiri dari 10 negara, 700 juta jiwa, dan dengan ukuran pasarnya terbesar kelima di dunia. China telah membuat terobosan yang signifikan di sini.
Selain diplomasi perkeretaapian di berbagai negara ASEAN, ada juga banjir Taman-Taman Industri Cina. Pelabuhan yang dibangun Cina, fasilitas pemrosesan nikel, pabrik-pabrik mobil, dan masih banyak lagi.
Selain diplomasi perkeretaapian di berbagai negara ASEAN, ada juga banjir Taman-Taman Industri Cina. Pelabuhan yang dibangun Cina, fasilitas pemrosesan nikel, pabrik-pabrik mobil, dan masih banyak lagi.
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00:00ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
00:06made up of 10 countries, 700 million people,
00:10and a market size that is the fifth largest in the world.
00:15China has been making significant inroads here.
00:20The East Coast Rail Ring connects the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia
00:25to one of our major ports, Port Klang.
00:27From a security point of view, from a supply chain point of view,
00:30if there are any tensions in South China Sea,
00:33then this is a major option and major alternative that can be used.
00:38Besides railway diplomacy across various ASEAN countries,
00:42there's also been a deluge of Chinese industrial parks,
00:46Chinese-built ports, nickel processing facilities,
00:50auto factories, and more.
00:54At a time when multilateralism is under tremendous strain,
01:00China's global initiative offers a new lease on hope.
01:05They look outward, not inward.
01:07They speak not of rivalry, but of renewal.
01:11While many auto companies across the world grapple with job cuts,
01:15Chinese investment promises to transform one of Malaysia's iconic car brands.
01:21We will provide the new product development.
01:24Jili needs to invest tens of billions of dollars
01:29to do all this new product development.
01:32We do not ask Crotein to make all this kind of initial investment.
01:37But with multi-billion dollar Chinese projects nearing completion,
01:41do the benefits outweigh the costs?
01:44The key takeaway for me is the need for greater transparency
01:47with regards to the awarding of these projects
01:50and the breakdown of the costing of these projects
01:52with regards to the financing structure of these projects.
01:55China, first row, China, 67 percent.
02:05As tensions with the U.S. continues,
02:08China focuses its efforts on the global south,
02:11an area representing roughly 85 percent of the world's population.
02:16the world's population.
02:17At the annual National People's Congress,
02:22China's foreign minister outlines the importance of the global south.
02:27China's foreign minister outlines the importance of the global south.
02:31The global global economy is growing up.
02:33It is the most powerful of our generation.
02:37The global economy is over 40%.
02:39The global economy is over 40%.
02:42It has reached 80% of the global economy.
02:45It has reached 80% of the global economy.
02:48It has become the most powerful of the global economy
02:50and the most powerful of the global economy.
02:52It has become the most powerful of the global economy
02:54and the most powerful of the global economy.
02:57Many developing countries feel like, you know,
02:59issues from inflation to food insecurity, energy insecurity,
03:03declining economic growth, pandemics.
03:06These are problems not of their making.
03:08They're problems that are being foisted upon them
03:10and that they don't have sufficient tools
03:13from other partners to deal with them.
03:15And so I think that they're frustrated.
03:17And they feel like that China shares in their frustration
03:20of the existing distribution of power in the international system.
03:23And China is sort of a champion of trying to promote a more equitable order.
03:27And it's important, I think, for us, as uncomfortable as it is,
03:30to recognize that this is an argument that the Chinese often make
03:35that does have purchase in parts of the developing world.
03:38The largest global South economy on China's doorstep is Southeast Asia.
03:43The combined GDP of ASEAN member states was 3.8 trillion in 2023,
03:47making it the world's fifth largest economy.
03:48The largest global South economy on China's doorstep is Southeast Asia.
04:00The combined GDP of ASEAN member states was 3.8 trillion in 2023,
04:06making it the world's fifth largest economy.
04:10In Malaysia, a new Chinese megaproject is quickly taking shape.
04:27This is the East Coast Rail Link, a 665-kilometer railway that runs from Malaysia's largest transport hub,
04:37Port Klang, crosses the East Coast through to its final stop near the Thai border at Kalantan.
04:44There are 20 stations altogether.
04:49Once the rail is up and running in January 2027,
04:52it will whisk freight and people across the country at up to 160 kilometers per hour.
04:59What is, to me, significant is that there is a major intrusion, penetration into the rural heartland,
05:10the poorer segment of the community.
05:12So hopefully, through that, it will propel economic growth
05:16because of the issue of an effective line of communication and transportation.
05:21The East Coast Rail Link connects the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia to one of our major ports,
05:29Port Klang.
05:30The East Coast are relatively poorer in terms of economic development.
05:34We hope that we can bring more manufacturing base to East Coast because,
05:39firstly, the West Coast are more expensive right now in terms of land costs.
05:44So in terms of land availability, in East Coast there are still a lot of untapped and undeveloped land.
05:57The East Coast Rail Link is a feat of engineering.
06:01Teams from China use mammoth tunneling machines to build tracks bored through solid bedrock in the mountains.
06:09Such mega-constructions are pricey.
06:13It was originally priced at 65.5 billion ringgit under the Najib government.
06:19Later, former Prime Minister Mahathir negotiated it down to 44 billion ringgit after the 1MDB saga.
06:28And today, under the Anwar government, the project is expected to cost 50 billion ringgit.
06:36This makes it the most expensive belt and road railway project in Southeast Asia so far.
06:42The China-Laos railway costs 6 billion US dollars.
06:48And the Jakarta-Bandong high-speed rail costs 7.3 billion US dollars.
06:56The price fluctuation is large.
06:59The final price is about 3 billion US dollars less than the original price.
07:06What lessons do you think other countries can draw from these events?
07:11The key takeaway for me is the need for greater transparency with regards to the awarding of these projects, with regards to the costing, then the breakdown of the costing of these projects, with regards to the financing structure of these projects.
07:28And I think what the Chinese contractors and perhaps the Chinese government is worried about is that if, let's say, there can be this kind of renegotiation happening in Malaysia, this may set a precedent or it may influence countries in other parts of the developing world that are also involved in belt and road initiatives to say, hey, if the Malaysian government got a good deal in this particular project, why can't we also renegotiate to get a similar deal?
07:56I love you.
08:00China mega rail projects in other parts of the world, like this railway in Kenya, has sometimes been subject to criticisms of not having enough local multipliers and using materials, labour and technology, all from China.
08:17The Malaysia government has tried to assuage these concerns.
08:20We have reached the goal for the 40% of the 40% of the civilian workers' projects that will be able to support the local companies.
08:38There are some people in Malaysia who are concerned about whether or not the project will impact Malaysia's fiscal health. What would you say to those people?
08:47Firstly, we inherited this project. We do not have a choice, but we try to make the best of it.
08:54What we have renegotiated in 2019 with the Chinese government is that the Chinese will take a stake in terms of operations.
09:00So it's a 50-50 joint venture to operate the real service, including the cargo services, throughout the loan period.
09:09So during this period, if there are any losses, the Chinese will take 50% liability of it.
09:16So they will be responsible in terms of losses, if there are operational losses.
09:21But if there is a profit, they will only take 20%.
09:24So 80% of the profit will go to Malaysia in order for us to sustain in terms of the repayment of the project.
09:31So in that way, there is some safeguard for the Malaysian government in terms of making sure that this project will be more sustainable.
09:39And hopefully it will be operationally profitable.
09:43The original idea is to build up connectivity from the southern border of China, mostly in Yunnan and Guangxi province southward.
09:53One line is through Myanmar, another line through Laos, another line through Vietnam converging in Thailand and go further down throughout Malaysia to reach Singapore.
10:08Now this is because China fully realised, more than 12 or 13 years ago, that the connectivity in this part of the world, from the Chinese border all the way down to Singapore, is not well built up.
10:25This is not a geopolitical project by any stretch of the imagination.
10:31It is for connectivity.
10:33It is for emancipating greater productivity and efficiency.
10:38The East Coast Rail Link is still under construction, but there's already a new major industrial park waiting to connect to it.
10:54This is the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.
10:58When CNA reported on the story in 2016, this is what Kuantan looked like.
11:05The port was still being constructed, and hundreds of businessmen from China were still mulling over investment opportunities.
11:12Businessmen were presented drawing plans and taken to large fields where potential factories could be located.
11:30Seven years later, those empty fields have become this.
11:34According to the Malaysian government, the Kuantan Industrial Park has attracted investments worth over 31 billion US dollars, mostly from China, and created over 14,000 jobs.
11:48The industrial park is connected to the Kuantan Port, which was also built with help from yet another Chinese company, named Beibu Gulf Port Group.
12:02The new country's international cooperation between the North and the North and the North and the North and the North and the North.
12:20Kuantan Port is Malaysia's closest port to China, with ships taking just three days to
12:28reach Guangxi in China from Kuantan.
12:33With a rail connection between Port Klang and Kuantan Port, it's opened up the option
12:38for cargo to bypass the South China Sea.
12:43The original objective of ECIL is to connect these two ports.
12:49So in actual fact, there is a land bridge between Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea
12:56through ECIL.
12:57It's important in the sense that it creates an infrastructure, readily available.
13:05Given everything that we've seen happening in the South China Sea and even the Philippines
13:09in recent months, this would be an important geopolitical strategy as well.
13:15From a security point of view, from a supply chain point of view, if there are any tensions
13:20in South China Sea, then this is a major option and major alternative that can be used.
13:35When we created an automobile factory in Portan City, high-tech robots from China are assembling
13:41thousands of cars.
13:44This is the factory of Portan, Malaysia's national car brand.
13:49And this state-of-the-art facility is the first step in the government's ambitious plan
13:54to transform this part of Perak into a national automotive hub, and Malaysia into a regional
14:01electric vehicle manufacturer.
14:04China will have a key role to play in these plans.
14:09We know that our neighboring countries are also attracting a lot of EV manufacturers to
14:13their respective country.
14:16And Malaysia has to, of course, step up in that scope.
14:20And we hope that we can be a hub for EV manufacturing as well.
14:23To understand how China has become closely involved in the Malaysian automotive industry, one needs
14:31to understand the history of Protan.
14:37Protan was established in 1983, and by the late 90s, it was the top-selling car in Malaysia.
14:44It was so popular that there was an up to six-month wait to buy each car.
14:49The reason for the speculative buying of Protan in Malaysia is because of the economic boom
14:56in Malaysia.
14:57Demand has exceeded supply.
15:01Protan was a source of national pride, and its factory regarded as Asia's most modern car-making
15:07facility outside Japan.
15:10Protan did so well that they even acquired British luxury sports car manufacturer Lotus.
15:17But by the 2010s, Protan had fallen on hard times.
15:25Daniel Fernandez, who has tracked the auto industry for 25 years, explains.
15:32People stopped buying them.
15:33Because why?
15:34Protan was not engineering good cars.
15:36They were not designing cars that lasted.
15:39The government had to keep bailing them out year after year.
15:42Basically, they were going nowhere.
15:43They were actually basically a thorn on the side.
15:47In 2017, China's Jili Holdings acquired a 49.9 stake in Protan, along with 51% of Lotus.
15:57And the plan was designed for both services and all of them.
15:58Again, they wanted to do this and develop the industry in Japan.
16:01The goal was to work in the United States, but the way that the trade was built.
16:02The ideas that ownedifcule and Lita was built in the United States, is to create a mult í•Ã¡ticas
16:07and to make the international capital for the United States.
16:09The goal was to try, and how to implement both of the stakeholders and to establish the fuerte and the building of the United States.
16:09This goal is to increase the ability to continue to grow and continue to grow.
16:20This goal is to ensure that they can be able to grow in Malaysia and the entire East Asia market in the world.
16:36Thus began Proton's transformation.
16:39We will provide the new product development, including our new models and including also hybrid and electric cars.
16:49Geely needs to invest tens of billions of dollars to do all this new product development.
16:57We do not ask Protein to make all this kind of initial investment.
17:04There was a time when Protein was facing difficulty.
17:12So how did the collaboration with Geely transform Protein and turn the company around?
17:19The first is about the transformation of the business by introducing the first SUV named X70.
17:30So this is part of the technology transformation adopted by the Protein.
17:36And on top of that, we also learn operation efficiency, thus reducing our operational costs.
17:44With the Geely support also, we are able to penetrate the latest technology of the engine.
17:51The older generation who used to distrust Protein because of their after sales and their reliability and their used car values are slowly coming back to the brand.
18:03But the biggest change, I feel, is the new generation.
18:07The new generation of buyers are now happy to go into a Protein showroom, happy to buy a car.
18:13In December 2024, Protein launched its first homemade electric vehicle, the E-MA7, which retails at under 30,000 US dollars.
18:28This would be a shining example of the networking opportunities and economic cooperation that has existed between Malaysia and China for over 50 years.
18:41And I commend both parties for the creativity and diligence to make this partnership a success.
18:48And it is in our interest to do what is necessary to make sure that this venture succeeds.
18:55Mr. Anwar hopes this will be the first step toward creating a holistic ecosystem for a Malaysian EV sector.
19:06I think Geely's role in turning around Proton would be a great business case study for Chinese companies and for others who are interested in seeing how a Chinese company can turn around a local entity in another country.
19:21What do you think are some of the key business lessons that the Malaysian stakeholders learned from the Chinese partner, Geely?
19:32The first one is about the relentless of the competitiveness, whereby you see the Chinese OEM because of the market is big and there are so many players.
19:43The competition is very, very stiff. So we have to be ahead of everything. From the marketing, we migrate to the new media marketing. From the technology, we have to introduce the latest technology.
19:58The second one, we talk about the speed and agency. Because of the competition also, everything needs to be fast. Everything is urgent. So this is something that we have to be very quick. And thus, it improves our operation.
20:16Geely's partnership is a huge success, huge success for Proton. There is no doubt about it. Because now, there is no bailout from the government. That means the taxpayer is not paying for Proton to stay alive.
20:28The success of Proton and the upcoming East Coast Rail Line are just some of the reasons why Malaysians are feeling upbeat about working with China.
20:39According to the State of Southeast Asia 2025 survey done by the ISIS Youssef Ishaq Institute in Singapore, 71% of Malaysians would now prefer to align with China over the US if ASEAN were forced to choose between the rival superpowers.
21:00The position that the United States government, previous and current, have taken towards Gaza. That has, I think, created even more unhappiness towards the United States.
21:12And that, I think, explains some of the shift towards Beijing. The second reason, I think, because many people in Southeast Asia can see the growing economic importance of China in the region.
21:24Whether it's in the area of tourism, whether it's in the area of increasing FDI in different sectors, whether it's even the presence of more, you know, Chinese nationals coming to Malaysia to set up businesses here.
21:41Also, Trump's tariffs are threatening the livelihoods of many Malaysians.
21:48Foreign leaders have stolen our jobs. Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories. They do it to us and we do it to them.
21:58While some exemptions partially shield semiconductors, which is Malaysia's largest export category to the United States, nevertheless, these new tariffs will still adversely impact many of our Malaysian industries, including textiles, furniture, rubber and plastics.
22:17Just as Malaysia sent a team to Washington to negotiate, China's President Xi Jinping made a visit to Kuala Lumpur.
22:32At a time when multilateralism is under tremendous strain.
22:35When some nations abandonment,
23:04the principles of shared responsibility,
23:07and others question long-standing commitments.
23:11China's global initiative offers a new lease on hope.
23:16They look outward, not inward.
23:19They speak not of rivalry, but of renewal.
23:23During this visit, 31 agreements were inked,
23:26covering areas like digital tech, green energy,
23:30satellites, and media cooperation.
23:34You were formerly the Deputy Minister for Trade.
23:38How does China investment compare to investments coming from the West?
23:43Because Malaysia's leaders have always spoken about strategic non-alignment.
23:48So do the investment figures demonstrate that?
23:51I think the investment figures over the past five years
23:54have shown that China is in the top five countries from an FDI perspective.
24:00But you have countries like the Netherlands,
24:04Singapore, the United States that feature in the top five.
24:10And Chinese investments, even though they are in the top five,
24:13would not be more than 20% of the total FDI that is flowing into Malaysia.
24:20So that reflects, I think, a very balanced approach that Malaysia and the Malaysian government is taking
24:26with respect to attracting FDI from different parts of the world.
24:30Well, I think our foreign policy will, of course, remain neutral.
24:34We know that it's a very challenging situation right now.
24:37It's a very delicate situation.
24:39And hopefully we can navigate this situation peacefully.
24:44We can continue to attract investment from both US and China and the rest of the world.
24:50Not just these two major countries, but from Europe, from Middle East, from Japan, Korea.
24:56These are all our major investors and major trading partners.
25:00So this will continuously be our focus.
25:04So this will be our focus.
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