Chinese citizens, visa free entry!

According to local media reports cited by CCTV News, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar announced on November 26th that the country will implement a 30 day visa free entry policy for tourists from China and other countries starting from December 1st.
Anwar stated that this move is to welcome the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's establishment of diplomatic relations with China in 2024. He also expressed gratitude to the Chinese side for recently announcing a unilateral visa free policy for Malaysian passport holders. It is reported that the Malaysian Ministry of the Interior will announce specific measures related to visa exemption policies.
Previously, on November 24th, according to the official WeChat account of the Consular Express, in order to further promote exchanges between Chinese and foreign personnel, serve high-quality development, and open up to the outside world at a high level, China decided to pilot the expansion of the scope of unilateral visa free countries and implement a unilateral visa free policy for ordinary passport holders from six countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. From December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, individuals holding ordinary passports from the aforementioned countries who come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit for no more than 15 days are eligible for visa free entry. Individuals from the aforementioned countries who do not meet the visa exemption requirements still need to apply for a visa to China before entering the country.
In addition to Malaysia, there have been two recent reports of visa free entry for Chinese citizens: according to Sri Lankan media on October 24th local time, the Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved a pilot project to implement visa free entry for tourists from seven countries including China, which will take effect immediately and remain valid until March 31st, 2024; Angola recently issued Presidential Decree No. 189/23, announcing that from September 29, 2023, it will unilaterally implement a visa free entry tourism policy for citizens of 98 countries, including Chinese citizens.
The trade volume of Malaysia in the first 10 months of this year has exceeded 1 trillion yuan
Honey Snow Ice City on the Streets of Malaysia
The Malaysian economy has been rebounding since April last year. By the third quarter, the economic growth rate had reached 14.2%. The economic performance in the fourth quarter also exceeded expectations, growing by 7%. Starting from the fourth quarter, personal consumption has rebounded, driving the continuous expansion of domestic demand and becoming one of the main driving forces for economic growth.
The recovery of the domestic economy has attracted more foreign investment inflows. According to a report released by the Malaysian Investment and Development Authority, Malaysia approved a total of 163.3 billion ringgit (approximately 0.64 ringgit) in foreign direct investment in 2022, of which 55.4 billion ringgit was invested from China, accounting for 33.9%.

The rebound in foreign trade is also a major highlight of Malaysia's economy. In 2022, the total import and export volume of the country was RM2.85 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 27.8%, and it is also the second consecutive year that it has exceeded the RM200 billion mark. Among them, the export value was RM1.55 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 25%, with electronic and electrical products accounting for the largest proportion; The import volume reached 1.3 trillion ringgit, an increase of 31.3%.

It is reported that China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, accounting for approximately 17.1% of Malaysia's total trade volume with China. Malaysia has become China's second largest trading partner in ASEAN and the tenth largest trading partner globally. The latest customs data shows that from January to October this year, the total import and export value between China and Malaysia reached 109074 billion yuan, a cumulative increase of 1.3% compared to the same period last year; Among them, China's exports to Malaysia amounted to 499.92 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%; Imports from Malaysia amounted to 590.82 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.4%.
01. Malaysia's import and export situation
From the perspective of major markets, Malaysia's exports to ASEAN, China, the United States, the European Union, and Japan have all reached historic highs, while exports to Egypt, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Togo, Djibouti, and Afghanistan have also significantly increased. At the same time, trade with member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) achieved double-digit growth in December last year. The strong performance of Malaysia's import and export trade has laid a solid foundation for the possibility of achieving unexpected GDP growth of around 8% for the whole year.
In terms of imports, the three major categories have performed outstandingly: firstly, the demand for domestic fuel and lubricant consumption has increased, resulting in a 29.3% increase in semi-finished product imports, which account for 54.4% of the total import value, reaching RM705.74 billion; The second is the large import of non transportation capital goods, which led to a 15.9% increase in the import of capital property goods, accounting for 9.3% of the total import value, to RM120.32 billion; Thirdly, the import of processed food and beverages has increased, resulting in a 24% increase in consumer goods imports, which account for 8% of total imports, reaching RM10.413 billion.
In terms of exports, exports of manufactured goods, agricultural products, and mineral products have all achieved double-digit growth. The strong export growth mainly benefited from double-digit growth in electronics, crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products, palm oil, palm oil-based agricultural products, machinery, equipment, and parts, with each export value exceeding 10 billion ringgit.
Last year's trade situation between China and Malaysia
It is worth mentioning that in 2022, China has become Malaysia's largest trading country for 14 consecutive years. The proportion of trade with China accounts for approximately 17.1% of Malaysia's total trade volume, with a year-on-year increase of 15.6%, reaching RM487.13 billion. Last year, Malaysia's export value to China exceeded the RM200 billion mark for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%. Meanwhile, China is also Malaysia's largest import market. Products imported from China account for approximately 21.3% of Malaysia's total imports. Driven by electronic and electrical products, mechanical equipment and parts, and chemical and chemical products, imports from China increased by 20.7% throughout the year, reaching MYR 276.5 billion.
At the 2023 Spring Festival reception held at the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia on February 16, 2023, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing introduced that the bilateral trade volume between China and Malaysia reached a historic high of 203.6 billion US dollars in 2022.
Malaysia's 2023 Foreign Trade Trends
Throughout 2023, various factors and uncertainties will put enormous downward pressure on Malaysia's import and export trade.
Firstly, the global economic recovery is facing multiple obstacles. The world is still facing significant inflationary pressure, geopolitical tensions have not yet eased, risks of trade decoupling, global supply chain disruptions, and fluctuations in commodity prices still exist. The global economic downturn has led to a decrease in external demand and a slowdown in demand for electronic and electrical products. In addition, factors such as domestic demand, inflation, and monetary policy in various countries can all affect the growth of trade.
Secondly, the global trade situation is becoming more severe. The World Trade Organization predicts that global trade will grow by 1% in 2023. WTO Director General Ivira stated at the Davos Forum that the expected growth in goods trade this year is only 1%, far below last year's 3.5%.
Thirdly, Malaysia's manufacturing industry is experiencing a contraction. Last December, the Malaysian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) continued to decline from 47.9 in November to 47.8, and has remained below the 50 boom bust line since September, which will have a significant negative impact on import and export trade.
Fourthly, the export momentum has weakened and shown a downward trend. Although Malaysia's exports in 2022 increased by up to 25% year-on-year, the growth rate of exports in December last year has dropped to 6%, breaking the record of 16 consecutive months of double-digit growth in exports, and the export situation is showing a downward trend.
Compared to the explosive growth in 2022, Malaysia's trade prospects will tend to stabilize in 2023. Therefore, China should also make targeted strategic adjustments based on Malaysia's trade market.
Confidence in the Malaysian economy is recovering from all sectors
According to CCTV, the importance of the tourism industry to Malaysia comes from multiple aspects, as it is not only an important source of foreign exchange, but also a guarantee of employment for the people. Official data shows that the tourism industry is Malaysia's third largest economic pillar, second only to the electronics and oil and gas industries, and is the country's second largest source of foreign exchange revenue, surpassing the foreign exchange revenue generated by the oil and gas industry.
Meanwhile, the tourism and related industries in Malaysia have employed over 3.52 million people, accounting for over 23% of the total employed population in the country. Therefore, the Malaysian government has been committed to promoting Malaysia as the preferred destination for global tourists. Currently, China remains one of Malaysia's largest source countries for tourists.
Not long ago, the Malaysian authorities raised their target for attracting foreign tourists this year from 16 million to 18 million. Stronger tourism activities will contribute at least one percentage point to Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, further helping to achieve the expected 4% GDP growth in Malaysia.
According to People's Daily, data released by the Bank of Malaysia on April 4th this year showed that the country's economy grew by 8.7% in 2022, the highest in 22 years, exceeding the government's expected target of 6.5% to 7%. Among them, the service industry has recovered the fastest, with a growth rate of 10.9%; Next is the manufacturing industry, with a growth rate of 8.1%. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar believes that this indicates that consumer, business, and investor confidence in the Malaysian economy is recovering, and it is expected that the economy will grow by 4.5% this year.