THE visa-free travel agreement between Malaysia and China last year has seen exchanges between both sides breaking record levels in tourism and business trading.
Head of China Consulate General Office in Sarawak Xing Weiping said doing away with the need to apply for entry visas has resulted in record-breaking bilateral social exchanges and also trade deals on both sides.
Speaking at a Spring Festival gathering organised by his office in Kuching, he said that last year, bilateral trade volume between Malaysia and China had surpassed the US$ 190 billion mark.
"For 2024, the US$ 190 billion trade value between Malaysia and China was a record achieved from January to the end of November.
"For this year, we (China and Malaysia) are expected to hit the US$ 200 billion mark in trade volume.
"The visa exemption deal for travel entry agreed by both Malaysia and China has seen abundant benefits for both countries already," he said.
Xing said China is Malaysia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years already.
That scenario is expected to continue for this year and many more years to come, he said.
"We expect to see people-to-people exchanges between Malaysia and China reaching greater heights this year.
"The social and economic sectors are expected to enjoy more fruitful benefits from the increase in these exchanges," he said.
Last year also saw the number of Chinese students coming to Malaysia to study, reaching the 47,000 mark as of September 2024.
