The Star Online (29/07/2018) - PETALING JAYA: Malaysian businesses are looking to collaborate with their counterparts from Foshan – hometown of Ip Man and Wong Fei Hong – with the setting up of a Malaysia-Foshan Chamber of Commerce (MFCC).

A two-day Malaysia-China Business Conference 2018 was held here to link over 200 firms from Foshan in China’s Guangdong province and 500 local businesses.

MFCC president Datuk Seri David Yeat said the chamber was founded to further promote China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“We hope that by building this platform, we will strengthen bilateral trade between Malaysia and China,” he said.

Foshan’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference vice-chairman Zheng Canru agreed that the MFCC would improve ties between Malaysia and Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong.

“Foshan is great place that has given rise to heroes such as Ip Man, Wong Fei Hong and Sun Yat-Sen,” he said.

The business conference was launched by Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming and Chinese embassy’s minister counsellor Chen Chen.

Chen said that Malaysia’s political climate was conducive to business, and that the government had changed for the better.

She added that China would look into buying more palm oil from Malaysia instead of soybeans from the United States – amid the brewing United States-China trade war.

Nga, in his speech, praised Foshan for generating a large economy despite its relatively small population of eight million.

The Teluk Intan MP said the Pakatan Harapan government looked at every business as a potential partner.

“The point is that we want to create smart partnerships where you can earn more –because when you do so, we can reap more tax too!” Nga joked.

However, he cautioned that the first two years of business would be challenging as the Government sorts out the country’s finances.

Country Heights Holdings Bhd founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew serves as MFCC’s advisor.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/07/29/fighting-for-trade-links-in-foshan/