KOTA KINABALU: In conjunction with the official visit to China led by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III and Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport, Datuk Ewon Benedick, the Malaysia China Chamber of Commerce Sabah (MCCC Sabah), together with the Dalian Federation of Industry and Commerce, jointly organised a high-level industrial business collaboration session in Dalian aimed at strengthening Sabah-China economic ties.
MCCC Sabah President Datuk Dexter Lau said the initiative was designed to deepen cooperation in key industries and strategic development sectors, while promoting more focused and high-quality trade and economic exchanges between Sabah and China.
He described the business collaboration session as an exclusive and in-depth economic platform that brought together selected business representatives and investors from industries with strong development foundations and significant collaboration potential.
“The session was carefully structured around the principle of precision matching to ensure strong alignment in business interests and cooperation objectives among all participating parties,” he said.
Datuk Dexter explained that participation was intentionally limited to a small delegation comprising MCCC Sabah’s senior leadership, including Deputy President Kapitan Dr Callee Tan Kai Lee, Vice Presidents Louis Su and Yong Siew Lee, and Secretary Lam Lee Chin, to maintain a focused, efficient, and results-oriented environment.
“Although many business leaders expressed interest in participating, we chose to maintain a small but focused format to allow for deeper and more meaningful engagement. These discussions are not merely about exploring possibilities, but about turning potential collaborations into reality through resource integration, financial coordination, human capital planning, industry support, and strategic market positioning,” he said.
During the session, MCCC Sabah and the Dalian Federation of Industry and Commerce officially established a sister chamber relationship, further strengthening longstanding ties and paving the way for expanded bilateral cooperation.
Both parties also expressed interest in enhancing people-to-people connections and youth exchanges, including football and other sporting activities, as platforms to foster closer fellowship and mutual understanding.
Datuk Dexter also highlighted the dedication shown by Sabah’s delegation, led by Datuk Ewon Benedick, describing their approach as pragmatic, proactive, and deeply committed to Sabah’s development and the needs of the business community.
He said MCCC Sabah remains committed to supporting the state government’s external development agenda by acting as a bridge and facilitator to create more exchange platforms and unlock tangible development opportunities for Sabah.
Reflecting on his own participation, Datuk Dexter revealed that, in his capacity as Executive Director of Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Berhad, he had travelled extensively across several Chinese cities, including Nanjing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou, for business engagements before making a special trip to Dalian to join the Sabah delegation.
“This reflects our strong commitment to advancing Sabah-China economic cooperation,” he said.
He noted that Malaysia and China have long maintained stable and active economic relations with broad growth potential, adding that the China visit served not only to sustain existing partnerships but also to elevate future cooperation to a higher level.
“By strengthening direct engagement with Chinese business organisations and industry players, Sabah can expand cooperation opportunities, optimise resource allocation, and reinforce its position within regional economic collaboration,” he said.
Datuk Dexter added that Sabah’s strategic location, abundant resources, and growing industrial capabilities are increasingly attracting international interest. He also pointed to key infrastructure such as the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu as an important platform to enhance regional trade and cross-border industrial cooperation.
During the engagements, he also highlighted Sabah’s development potential to Chinese enterprises and announced that Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Berhad plans to invest an additional RM200 million in Sabah over the next two years to strengthen the Group’s operations and business expansion within the state.
“If we did not have confidence in Sabah, we could have chosen to expand elsewhere. It is precisely because we believe in Sabah’s long-term development potential that we continue to channel our investments, resources, and growth plans here,” he said.
He stressed that MCCC Sabah will continue to serve as a bridge between government agencies and the private sector by strengthening communication, connecting quality resources with strategic partners, and accelerating the implementation of promising collaborations.
The China visit is seen as a significant step towards further strengthening Sabah-China economic relations and opening greater opportunities for deeper industrial cooperation and regional connectivity in the years ahead.-BNN
