Consul General of Malaysia: China–ASEAN cooperation resonates with global tech trends

“The development of the China-ASEAN relationship has been tremendous, especially in the past five years,” Phadil Ismail, Consul General of Malaysia in Nanning, said in an exclusive interview with China News Network on Monday during the 2026 China Internet Civilization Conference, held in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

“Both sides continue to become an important trading partner,”he added that China–ASEAN cooperation is increasingly focusing on artificial intelligence, the digital economy, cross-border e-commerce, and smart city projects, moving in line with global technological trends.

“This is a good sign, and we need to continue to expand cooperation in the digital sector,” he said. (Huang Fang, Ren Shuai, Intern: Hu Tongyu)