Covid-19 vaccine: King welcomes China's commitment

Leonsa

KUALA LUMPUR: The King today welcomed the commitment given by the Chinese Government to Malaysia, to be listed as a priority recipient country for the China-produced Covid-19 vaccine once it is successfully developed.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said this was made possible following the agreement achieved between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a meeting on Oct 13.

Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said this in a statement, issued today following a farewell ceremony held at the palace for the Republic of China's outgoing ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian.

"At the ceremony, which took place at 2pm today, the King expressed his gratitude to Bai Tian for the role he played during his three years of service in Malaysia, particularly in strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries to a more comprehensive level," the statement read.

Bai Tian, who served as an ambassador to Malaysia from Nov 28, 2017 will end his tenure on Nov 27.

Present at the ceremony was Foreign Affairs Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob.

Ahmad Fadil said the King also expressed his highest appreciation to Bai Tian for his efforts, and specifically to China's President Xi Jinping for the Chinese government's continued assistance and contributions to Malaysia since the pandemic began in the country.

"China was one of the first countries that assisted Malaysia by contributing two million face masks, 120,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and 200 ventilators, besides deploying eight medical consultants to help Malaysia address the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Malaysia and China also agreed to establish a high-level committee on post Covid-19 cooperation which will be chaired by the Foreign Ministers of both countries.

"Following this, the King also expressed his gratitude for the agreement (for vaccine access) that was signed virtually on Nov 18 between Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Zhigang."

In this regard, Ahmad Fadil said the King hoped the agreement would not only accelerate the supply of the Covid-19 vaccine to Malaysia, but would also be a catalyst for the expansion of scientific cooperation and collaboration between the two countries.

He said although global trade has been affected by the pandemic, Al-Sultan Abdullah expressed his satisfaction that Malaysia and China still recorded positive growth in terms of trade volume.

This, he said, reflected the sustainability and resilience of the Malaysian and Chinese economies which complemented both countries.

"His Majesty hopes that the closeness, bilateral cooperation in various sectors and diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China established since 1974 can be strengthened and further enhanced for the common interest and economic well-being."

China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner since 2009.

The value of trade between Malaysia and China until the third quarter of this year amounted to USD92.5 billion.

In 2019, the value of trade between the two countries amounted to USD123.9 billion.