“Given the declining costs of solar and wind power generation, there’s a tangible opportunity for the commercial scale-up of green hydrogen production and the development of its associated supply chain,” he suggested.

Malaysia is blessed with abundant renewable energy resources, and is well positioned to harness its potential as a leading producer of green hydrogen, he said.

“We are striving to position Malaysia as a leading hydrogen economy by 2050,” Chang announced.

In order to unlock the hydrogen economy, he added, it is vital to attract more Chinese investments which will make clean energy technologies more affordable and accessible to all.

“Hence we warmly welcome Chinese green foreign direct investment to invest in Malaysia,” he added.

Longtime trade partner

Malaysia and China have maintained a strong bilateral trade relationship over the years.

Trade between both countries registered consistent annual growth over the past decade, rising from US$106 billion (RM474.6 billion) to US$203.6 billion (RM911.5 billion) in 2022, according to Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.

“China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years,” he said.

The ambassador further highlighted that China’s direct investment to Malaysia has reached US$12.5 billion (RM55.96 billion) in 2022, accounting for one-third of Malaysia’s total foreign direct investment.

“This again shows that high-quality BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) cooperation has given strong impetus to China-Malaysia economic and trade prosperity,” the ambassador said.

Chang and Ouyang were speaking at the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the initiative held at the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (Mranti) here.

The event was jointly organised by the Southeast Asia Research Centre for Humanities and the Centre of Regional Strategic Studies.