- Reinforces MDEC’s primary mission to develop a strong online ecosystem
- In 2024 China performs US$ 2. 7b expenditures under Malaysia Digital programme
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ) and Zhejiang University, in Hangzhou, China signed a Letter of Intent ( LOI ) last week to collaborate on digital transformation, AI ecosystem and smart cities based on the ‘Zhejiang Model’, a digital governance transformation framework.
Anuar Fariz Fadzil, MDEC CEO said the relationship is proper to Malaysia’s passion of becoming a leading online country under the MADANI Government.
“This relationship reinforces MDEC’s main mission to develop a robust online ecosystem that incubates future-ready skills, drives innovation and supports cutting edge research, ” said Anuar. It closely aligns with the government’s modern transformation agenda, prioritising key places such as skills growth, enhanced data management, AI safety and intelligent cities.
Malaysia stands to gain important insight into the ‘Zhejiang Model’ of modern management, which offers a proven model for integrating digital advancement across all levels of society.
Zhejiang University, in the province of Zhejiang with a reputation spanning more than a century, is recognised for its role in nurturing technical expertise and advancing Artificial technology. Globally, it is ranked 44 in QS World University Rankings 2024, 55 in the Times Higher Education ( THE ) World University Rankings 2024.
It somewhat counts Liang Wenfeng, the leader of DeepSeek whose advances have made high-performing AI types considerably more cost-efficient and available international, as among its graduates. Laing did his masters at the Zhejiang University College of Information Science & Electronic Engineering, 15 years ago.
Meanwhile, MDEC said its investments and exports programmes under the Malaysia Digital Initiative have created significant traction on exports to China.
In 2024, Chinese companies under the Malaysia Digital programme committed investments amounting to US$ 2. 71 billion ( RM11. 9 billion ). At the same time, Malaysia Digital companies exported an estimated US$ 114. 65 million ( RM503. 4 million ) to China. Among the top 5 companies by value include Vitrox Corporation Bhd, Sea Gamer Mall, Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Inari Amerton and Juwai-IQ I Holdings, with strong contribution from the semiconductor, gaming and PropTech industries.
“All these components are key in developing a successful digital network. The collaboration will include exploring Zhejiang University’s thriving AI ecosystem, particularly in fostering collaboration among government, universities, the private sector as well as empowering digital talent, ” said Anuar.
The MDEC-Zhejiang University development follows on from the People’s Republic of China President, Xi Jinping’s successful visit to Malaysia last week, which included deepening bilateral cooperation on the digital front after having met with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim together with other ministers including Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh Deo.