TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021, KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) successfully led the participation of 58 Malaysian companies, offering various Malaysian-made products and services at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) 2021. 39 Malaysian companies participated in the physical trade fair while 19 other companies joined virtually. A total of RM572.01 million of potential sales was generated during the event, where 2,574 business enquiries and more than 150 business meetings were arranged between Malaysian exhibitors with Chinese importers, distributors and wholesalers. The products and services featured at the expo involved food & beverages, health & wellness and lifestyle.

CAEXPO 2021 continued to strengthen the partnership between MATRADE and its several collaborating partners including CAEXPO Secretariat, China Construction Bank (CCB), Oversea Prominent Brands (OPB) and local associations/chambers of commerce in arranging the business meetings during the event. In order to enhance Malaysia’s visibility by leveraging digital platform, MATRADE introduced a live streaming session in the Malaysia pavilion for the first time. The session managed to attract more than 2 million viewers.

Mr. Ting from Manjung Naluri Sdn Bhd (one of the top five high achievers who participated in CAEXPO 2021) said, “Our goals to participate in CAEXPO has been satisfactorily met. Virtual CAEXPO provided us with a platform to promote our products to a broader group. It brought us more opportunities to reach out to trade buyers and assisted in creating a wider customer database from the visitors of our virtual booth.” Mr Ting also extended his sincere appreciation to MATRADE for the smooth arrangement, which helped facilitate Malaysian companies in reaching out to international buyers.

Since 2009, China has been the largest trading partner for Malaysia for 12th consecutive years and accounted for 18.6% of Malaysia’s total trade in 2020. Trade with China in 2020, was valued at RM331.44 billion, with a growth rate of 4.7%. Total export was recorded at RM159.22 billion, while total import was RM172.22 billion. For the first seven months of 2021, Malaysia’s trade with China expanded by 29.8% to RM233.40 billion compared to the same period in 2020. Exports rose by 21.2% to RM103.22 billion while imports from China increased by 37.6% to RM130.18 billion