Currently, several Malaysian companies have invested in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Aluminum firm Press Metal set up a subsidiary in Foshan in 2005 with an annual production capacity of 120,000 metric tons. It was preceded by Perfect (China) Company, which manufactures cleaning and beauty products and began operations in Zhongshan in 1994.

"We believe the Chinese government's strong support, with various incentives and policies for foreign investment, will spur it in future," says Beh. Total bilateral trade between Guangdong province and Malaysia grew 18.2 percent year-on-year to about $40 billion from January to November last year, according to Beh, citing data from IHS Markit.

While Guangdong's exports to Malaysia rose 27.3 percent on a yearly basis to $15.4 billion during the same period, the Chinese province's imports from Malaysia increased 13.1 percent to $24.6 billion. "Although the trading volume between Malaysia and Guangdong is about one-third of total trade between Malaysia and China, we strongly believe there is more potential for growth, maybe by another 5 to 10 percent," says Beh.

According to the Annual Report on Development of Malaysia 2021, jointly published by Beijing Foreign Studies University and Peking University, cooperation between China and Malaysia has deepened despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

A view of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city. PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

The two countries have established a close partnership in the digital economy, including e-commerce, electronic payments and cloud computing, the report said. By working together, China could expand its presence in the Southeast Asian digital economy market, and Malaysia could embrace technological upgrading, creating a win-win situation, it said.

Both sides are working together in financial development. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding with Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia's stock exchange, in 2020 to promote investment flows between the two sides. Under the agreement, the two sides would display selected mutual benchmark index constituents of their respective markets on both exchanges' websites.

Beh is confident Malaysia will boost bilateral exchanges with China in a wide range of areas. They include stepping up cooperation in developing COVID-19 vaccines and drug research, facilitating industrial upgrade and innovation-driven development to foster new sources of growth with 5G and the digital economy, working together in the fields of energy, modern agriculture, intensive food processing and halal food certification.

For the Greater Bay Area, the focus will be on trade and investment, technological innovation, tourism and education, stresses Beh.

In his view, it's important to adopt a "new and creative" approach to intensify bilateral cooperation amid the pandemic, such as promoting online operations and sales on e-commerce platforms with key opinion leaders to enhance the image of Malaysian products and brands, and increase their awareness among Chinese consumers.