Ease Of Travel Boosts Malaysia-China People-to-people Ties: Bernama Chairman

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- A modern and seamless system to welcome travellers combined with favourable policies including visa-free travel for Malaysians entering China are boosting people-to-people ties between the two nations by enabling increased tourism and interactions, said national news agency Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai.

He was speaking in an interview after having travelled to China extensively especially in 2024 in conjunction with official duties related to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China and in his personal capacity.

Wong described the ease of travel to China as impressive, noting measures by Chinese authorities to welcome travellers. He highlighted features like automatic entry gates at airports with multilingual instructions and the friendly attitude of local officials.

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He was amazed by the service at the immigration. "I can't speak Chinese. You don't even need to speak Chinese because you put your passport on the machine and they know you're from Malaysia, and the voice from the machine says 'Welcome to China” in Bahasa Malaysia," he said.

Wong also spoke highly of China's railway transport infrastructure, which allowed easy rapid travel from Hangzhou to Shanghai via high speed railway.

"I wish that the world could see more of this technology advance in transportation which is carried out by China ... the advancement of technology in transport is really amazing for me. That to me is the number one thing that hits me the most every time I go to China," he said.

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"I will say that China's biggest eye-opener for me is the transformation of the railway network. The railway network is really, really amazing. I think it's the most extensive in the world in terms of high-speed railway," he said.

Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic ties, Wong emphasised the achievements accomplished so far but noted that greater opportunities lie ahead, especially in economic cooperation. He pointed out that Malaysia and the broader Southeast Asian region are experiencing rapid transformation, driven in part by China's economic success.

"While Malaysia is small, but we have a big middle-class market. That means there's good purchasing power. So, it's really good that (Chinese automaker) Geely and Proton have come together to work in Malaysia," he said.

"It's not just for the Malaysian market but to use it as a leaping hub to send to other countries. But I would really love to see Malaysia and China working together more on technology, and also transportation, I'd say, because there's so much to learn from China in terms of technological advancement," he added.

For the upcoming China National Day, Wong extended his best wishes. "On behalf of Bernama, the Malaysian national news agency, I wish the people of China, the government of China, every success and prosperity in the years to come," he said, hoping that Malaysia and China could go further in terms of people-to-people friendship. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA