Kota Kinabalu: A delegation from the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress visited City Hall (DBKK) on Sunday to pay a courtesy call on DBKK Director General Lifred Wong.
Both sides hoped for further exchanges and development in agriculture, tourism, economics and other fields in the future, elevating the relationship between the two regions to a new level.
The delegation, led by Liu Xiaoming, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress, comprised seven members on a working visit to Kota Kinabalu.
Attendees included Robert Lipon, DBKK Deputy Director General (Operations); Datuk Philip Wong, DBKK Advisory Board Member and President of Sabah Maritime Silk Route Research and Advancement Society and Dato Wilson Yong, President of Malaysia Maritime Silk Route Research Society, among others.
Lifred said Kota Kinabalu and Wuhan became sister cities in 2015, but regrettably, exchanges between the two places were interrupted by the pandemic outbreak.
He understood that the main purpose of this delegation’s visit was to conduct agricultural inspections in the State.
He said the State Government attaches great importance to agricultural development and actively implementing various programmes to increase food production.
Lifred said Sabah is rich in natural resources, with land and climate suitable for growing various crops. There is still much room for development in Sabah’s agricultural products, including the cultivation of traditional Chinese herbs, an area in which Sabah hopes to learn from Hubei Province.
“We intend to form a working group to connect with Wuhan representatives and gain a deeper understanding of various local agricultural products, including rice, upland rice, corn and more,” he said.
Meanwhile, Philip introduced the unique local customs, rich tourism resources and development of the plantation industry in Sabah.
Tourism is a major potential industry in Sabah, with abundant natural resources and a strong multicultural atmosphere attracting visitors from all over the world.
“Flights between Wuhan and Kota Kinabalu have increased from twice a week to twice daily to meet growing demands. Even though many Chinese people are not familiar with Sabah, world-renowned diving destinations like Semporna and Sipadan Island are beloved by many Chinese tourists.”
He also said Sabah is one of the main producers of oil and natural gas in Malaysia.
The state has many pristine areas waiting to be developed, with abundant resources, making it a choice for many foreign investors in various economic sectors within the state.
Regarding seafood exports, he said they are currently mainly exported to Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and hoped that various Sabah seafood products could be promoted to China in the future.
Prof Dato’ Sri Wilson Yong, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sabah Institute of Art (SIA), said the institute’s curriculum had deeply integrated the rich colours of Borneo’s multi-ethnic cultural arts for many years.
With rich experience in connecting Chinese and international fine arts professionals, he believed that with solid and profound educational conditions and strength, it would be able to strengthen educational and cultural exchanges between Malaysia and China.
On the other hand, Liu focused on introducing the latest developments in Hubei. Hubei Province, located in central China with an area of 185,900 square kilometres, has a total GDP exceeding five trillion yuan and is currently advancing towards the six trillion yuan mark this year.
He said that Hubei is a major agricultural province, and the Hubei Government is actively working towards becoming a strong agricultural province. The indicators of a strong agricultural province include maintaining steady growth in total grain output, with grain production stabilising above 50 billion (25 billion kg).
“Next is to improve the quality of agricultural products, focusing on creating green food, organic food, and geographical indication agricultural products. Then comes the support of intelligent technology, increasing the promotion of advanced and applicable agricultural mechanization technologies.”
Liu also encouraged the Sabah business community to connect with representatives of Hubei Province enterprises to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s industries and businesses, including agricultural products, to develop economic and trade cooperation opportunities between the two places.
He also hoped that Hubei enterprises developing in Sabah could receive support from the Sabah Government, which would help strengthen the production and trade exchanges of agricultural products between the two provinces/cities.
“We hope to further strengthen cultural exchanges and tourism development between Hubei Province and Sabah in the future. The exchange of Chinese civilisation can promote mutual learning, reference, and development between each other.”
He also welcomed Sabah enterprises and government representatives to visit Hubei for inspections and to explore more cooperation opportunities in economics, trade, culture, and education, creating mutual benefits and win-win situations.
Representatives from both sides showed strong interest in promoting cooperation potential in various fields such as high-tech, education, and tourism, engaging in enthusiastic exchanges and making more efforts to promote friendly relations between Malaysia and China.
