Labuan: China's Consul-General Li Shugang said he sees great synergy potential in resource-rich Sabah and Sarawak."Last year, Sabah and Sarawak contributed some RM20 billion worth of Malaysia-China bilateral trade valued at RM147.2 billion," said Li, who came to Labuan as a guest of the Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce (LCCC) President Wong Kii Hii.
He added that China's mammoth manufacturing sector needs a lot of raw materials and commodities.
"Its huge market offers great opportunities for Malaysian products."
Apart from that, the Consul-General also highlighted China's capability and capacity to help develop mega infrastructure projects including civil engineering contracts worth around RM2 billion for the East Malaysian states.
According to him, his office in Kuching recorded 300,000 visitors from China who had gone to the states of Borneo, but the majority came to Kota Kinabalu.
About 68,000 Malaysians applied to his consulate for the purpose of visiting China which resulted in 500,000 visas being processed at their embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Wong invited the Chinese Consul-General to visit Labuan more often due to the opportunities that can be developed in oil and gas as well as the International Banking and Finance Centre (IBFC).
"China's expertise in engineering can help expand our port facilities to support our oil and gas industry as well as bring in ships to Labuan," said Wong.
The LCCC President also called on the Labuan Financial Services Authority to promote IBFC in China.
