NOV 11 — Chinese President Hu Jintao is wrapping up a quick 20-hour visit to Malaysia today by visiting Malacca, where the relationship between both territories began half a millennium ago.
This time, the Chinese are getting some tributes again in the form of a second banking licence for its biggest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) from Malaysia which has long restricted such licences especially for foreign banks. The other Chinese bank is Bank of China.
But make no mistake about it. Malaysia will remain the beneficiary of closer ties with the Middle Kingdom, which has weathered the world recession and whose factories are now back in full steam.
The strengthened relationship is essentially of revenue-challenged Malaysia trying to tap the China's strong balance sheet to build up its infrastructure which still lags despite years of growth since the 1970s.
There is no way that Malaysia can build energy infrastructure in Sarawak and Sabah or other similar infrastructure without outside help especially with shrinking natural resources such as petroleum and future savings already subsidising the nation.
And that is where the ICBC comes in. It will be a key player for project financing required for Chinese-led projects in the country.
As it is, both countries have signed a loan agreement for the delayed second Penang bridge project and will cooperate on a double-track railway project in Johor, where the massive Iskandar Development Region requires further infrastructure to be a success.
Analysts have welcome the current cooperation and the market has responded positively, even to talk that Putrajaya will offer 10 per cent stake in oil palm giant Sime Darby Berhad to a Chinese investor.
Taking a leaf from his father's book, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is being pragmatic to go for deals and cooperation to ensure the country's growth remains at a reasonable clip to achieve Vision 2020 for developed nation status.
His father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein ignored the continuing spectre of communism in Malaysia to forge ties with China in 1974, realising full well that the Chinese would be a regional military and economic superpower even then.
This will also be Najib's approach from now. Getting the job done with any friends who can help and cutting deals that will benefit the country's economy. Be they from the East or West, North or South.
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President Hu's visit to Malacca is a subtle reminder to Malaysian leaders that 600 years ago, Admiral Cheng Ho, the chief "pendatang" visited with 35000 men in a fleet of 300 ships to establish trade and peaceful co-existence. It could have colonised the natives easily like what the Portuguese, Dutch and British did centuries later.