On March 6th, Huang Kunming, an NPC deputy and secretary of the Communist Party of China Guangdong Provincial Committee, responded to a question from a journalist from the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama). "Many overseas Chinese from Guangdong worked alongside residents to help develop the Malay Peninsula, dedicating great efforts and making significant contributions," he said. "Guangdong and Malaysia have many complementary advantages, and I hope we will do more business together in the new year."

Recently, in an exclusive interview with the Yangcheng Evening News, Koh King Kee, a senior Malaysian scholar and president of the Centre for New Inclusive Asia, said that Guangdong's technology and manufacturing sectors are creating deep synergies with Malaysia, a major regional hub in Southeast Asia.

For China, 2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. For Malaysia, it is the launch year of the 13th Malaysia Plan. Both nations are entering crucial junctures in their respective development trajectories.

Koh noted that, leveraging Guangdong's industrial strengths, the prospects for cooperation between the two sides are particularly broad in three areas. The first is green technology transfer and electric vehicle supply chain cooperation, combining Guangdong's leadership in EV and battery technologies with Malaysia's automotive manufacturing foundation and regional market potential. The second is smart manufacturing and industrial digitalization, integrating Guangdong's technological solutions with Malaysia's industrial edge in semiconductor testing and packaging. The third is promoting the deep integration of digital services and cross-border e-commerce, capitalizing on the new digital trade rules introduced by the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade.

As this year marks both the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan and China's APEC host year, how will Guangdong and Malaysia play an exemplary role in regional collaboration amid these converging strategic opportunities?

In Koh's view, China's decision to host the APEC meeting in Shenzhen carries profound symbolic significance. Having visited Shenzhen multiple times, he noted three lasting impressions of the city: its speed of innovation, the deep integration of technology into urban governance, and its robust advanced manufacturing capabilities.

Koh anticipates that Malaysia can leverage the APEC platform to drive Asia-Pacific regional integration across three dimensions. First, regarding supply chain complementarity, Malaysia can utilize APEC mechanisms to promote the mutual recognition of standards and trade facilitation. This will allow the country to more closely embed its strengths in the electrical and electronics, semiconductor and other fields with the advanced manufacturing base of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, spearheaded by Shenzhen.

Second, in formulating new digital and green rules, Malaysia can actively advocate for and participate in establishing trade rules that ensure seamless connectivity between national digital systems. This effort would help reduce the institutional costs associated with inconsistent regulations that enterprises face during cross-border operations.

Third, Malaysia can champion open and inclusive regional economic cooperation within APEC, supporting developing members in the Asia-Pacific as they integrate into the digital economy. Furthermore, it can drive the development of a resilient, integrated regional supply chain system to prevent a slide toward isolation and fragmentation.

马来西亚新亚洲战略研究中心理事长许庆琦：从大湾区到巴生港，粤马联手打造区域合作新样板

3月6日，全国人大代表、广东省委书记黄坤明在回答马来西亚国家新闻社记者提问时说：“有很多（广东）华人华侨和当地居民一道共同开拓马来半岛，付出很大努力，作出很多贡献。广东与马来西亚有很多优势可以互补，希望新的一年（广东与马来西亚）多做生意。”

近日，马来西亚资深学者、新亚洲战略研究中心理事长许庆琦接受羊城晚报记者专访时表示，广东的技术与制造正在与作为东南亚区域枢纽之一的马来西亚产生深度共振。

对中国来说，2026年是“十五五”规划的开局之年；而对马来西亚来说，2026年是“第十三个大马计划”的起步之年。中马两国分别迎来各自发展进程中的重要节点。

许庆琦指出，依托广东的产业优势，广东与马来西亚在以下几方面合作前景尤为广阔：一是绿色技术转移与电动汽车供应链合作，广东在电动车和电池技术的领先地位，可与马来西亚的汽车制造业基础和区域市场潜力结合；二是智能制造与工业数字化，将广东的技术方案与马来西亚的半导体测试封装的产业优势结合；三是借助中国—东盟自由贸易区3.0升级带来的数字贸易新规则，推动两地数字服务与跨境电商的深度融合。

今年是“十五五”开局之年，也是APEC中国年。在多重战略机遇的叠加下，广东和马来西亚将如何在区域协作中发挥示范作用？

在许庆琦看来，中国选择把APEC会议放在深圳举办，具有高度的象征意义。许庆琦曾多次访问深圳，这座城市给他留下了三大深刻印象：创新速度、科技与城市治理的深度融合、强大的先进制造能力。

许庆琦期待，马来西亚可以借助APEC平台在三个维度推动亚太区域融合：首先，在供应链互补性上，利用APEC机制推动标准互认与贸易便利化，将本国在电气电子、半导体等领域的优势，与以深圳为代表的粤港澳大湾区先进制造业基地更紧密地嵌合。

其次，在数字与绿色新规则的制定上，马来西亚可以通过APEC平台积极倡导并参与制定各国数字系统间能够顺畅对接的贸易规则，降低企业跨境运营时面临的“规则不一”的制度成本。

第三，马来西亚可在APEC内倡导开放包容的区域经济合作，支持亚太地区的发展中成员更好地融入数字经济发展，并推动构建既能抵御风险、又能保持区域一体化的供应链体系，避免走向封闭和割裂。

策划 | 孙璇
统筹 | 蒋铮 董柳
文 | 记者 曾潇 赵鹏
翻译 | 陈冠臻
英文审校 | 曾敏