Chongqing - "Chongqing is (one of) the largest cities in the world, and we see a lot of opportunities here for palm oil, particularly in the food and animal feed sectors." said 'Raja Dato' Nushirwan Bin Zainal Abidin, Malaysian Ambassador in China to iChongqing during an English interview at the China-Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil Forum recently held in Chongqing.

During the interview, Mr. Abidin addressed the topics related to the bilateral trade between China and Malaysia, especially the opportunities in the western region. "Chengdu and Chongqing are important trading partners with Malaysia. China Customs data showed in 2020, bilateral trade between Malaysia and this region (Sichuan and Chongqing) reached USD8.54 billion which Chongqing's bilateral trade with Malaysia was USD5.25 billion."

When he answered the background data for how Malaysia will cooperate under the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle as China's national strategy, he also indicated that "Chongqing is (one of) the largest cities in the world, and we see a lot of opportunities here for palm oil, particularly in the food and animal feed sectors."

To explain why this forum chose Chongqing to be held, as the COP15 was recently held in Kunming, Mr. Abidin also said, "Malaysia recognizes that sustainable and inclusive development is part of a key principle in the nation's development planning which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

Like China and the rest of the world, Malaysia sees the importance of innovation-driven development and harmony between man and nature in making the SDGs a reality, which indicates that Malaysia hopes to reach a win-win position with China for the same goal of sustainability as developing countries.