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Zhai Kun

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.
In that time, both governments have fostered a close and seamless political and economic relationship, and have successfully upgraded bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Besides that, China and Malaysia have made great efforts to promote social and cultural development. When Malaysia started allowing its citizens to visit China in the early 1990s, both countries gradually cooperated in people-to-people exchanges.
Last year, nearly 2.9 million Chinese visited Malaysia, a greater number of visitors than from Singapore or Indonesia. At the same time, Malaysia was among the top 10 sources of tourists entering China.
There is great potential for further exchanges and cooperation, particularly among youth, but there are several reasons why there is still a gap in deeper understanding between two sides.
First, social and cultural exchanges between the two countries are mainly driven by government, resulting in a lack of vitality at the grass roots. When Malaysian civil society groups want to communicate with their Chinese counterparts, they often lack a mechanism to connect them.
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Second, there is a lack of sustainable momentum – the social and cultural exchanges that have taken place have not involved youth groups in either country.
Third, the Chinese counterparts focus on exchanges with ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, overlooking ethnic Malays, the country’s dominant group.
The youth of China and Malaysia can help remedy these issues by acting as a bridge and encouraging diversity. This can be realised by focusing exchanges on country-based – rather than ethnic oriented – interactions. Chinese youth need to appreciate that Malaysia’s heritage is multiracial, encompassing Malay, Indian and other non-Chinese communities, while Malaysian youth must overcome stereotypes to get to know China’s diverse culture.
Both countries also need to cultivate interactions from young people with a wide range of a backgrounds and talents. Suggestions include:
● Malaysia and China could introduce various projects that youth can play a role in it. Both countries can establish a parallel Malaysia-China youth exchange mechanism at official and unofficial levels. At the official level, we suggest the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports establish ties with the Communist Youth League of China. At the unofficial level, the league can establish a connection with the youth departments of opposition parties in Malaysia, getting different ideas about youth initiatives from different approaches.

● China and Malaysia could introduce visa-free entry policies for young people. Chinese and Malaysian tertiary students, young scholars and relevant technical specialists could be allowed to stay for 15 to 30 days, enabling organisers to develop youth programmes.
● China could encourage more Chinese students to study the Malay language through cooperative projects or joint research in Malaysia. Students could be encouraged to become interpreters, immerse themselves in the local culture, and work with Malaysian researchers to conduct field studies.
● Both countries could collaborate on a “Hi Malaysia” youth exchange programme similar to the “Hi China” initiative, an international youth alliance led by Tsinghua University doctoral candidate Liu Xi to explore global opportunities. China could consider organising a Malaysia-China youth summit while Malaysia could establish a platform for leaders from both countries China and Malaysia to interact with youth.
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● Malaysian and Chinese universities could also consider setting up a joint degree programme for undergraduate students. To realise the scheme, prominent universities in Malaysia such as the University of Malaya, the National University of Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia could forge ties with Peking and Tsinghua universities. Malaysian students would have the chance to learn about China by direct overseas experience, and vice versa. This programme could be a foundation for talented young people to know Malaysia and China better.
● Malaysian students studying in China could publish articles in Malaysian newspapers to contribute to understanding about China. In Malaysia, coverage of China varies, depending on the outlet. With the help of the Malaysian embassy in China and Malaysian journalists based in China, the students could propose to set up columns or to conduct interviews for use in the media organisations, using their first-hand experience to narrow the gap in public understanding.
As China and Malaysia mark a major anniversary in their relations, both countries should be more active in fostering ties. We believe empowering youth can contribute greatly to this cause.
Zhai Kun is a professor at the Peking University- Tencent Belt and Road Big Data Innovation Lab. Additional contributions by Ho Xuzhe, Tang Shixuan and Kong Jinlei, researchers at the innovation lab


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Six steps to forging stronger ties between the youth of China and Malaysia

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As the two countries mark 45 years of official relations, young people have the potential to bring the nations closer, writes Zhai Kun


As the two countries mark 45 years of official relations, young people have the potential to bring the nations closer, writes Zhai Kun.


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Six steps to forging stronger ties between the youth of China and Malaysia

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}As the two countries mark 45 years of official relations, young people have the potential to bring the nations closer, writes Zhai Kun

As the two countries mark 45 years of official relations, young people have the potential to bring the nations closer, writes Zhai Kun