BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Zhao Li, Zhang Dongfang) Under the background of accelerated urbanization, as a developing country, Malaysia faces many opportunities and challenges in urban development. Recently, Chiong Yoke Kong, special affairs officer of the Office of the Minister of Transport of Malaysia, was interviewed by Chinanews.com, and made an in-depth analysis of the cooperation prospects between Malaysia and China in the fields of urban development and talent exchange.

      Zhang Yugang pointed out that as a developing country, Malaysia can learn a lot of reference from the global urban development experience. However, despite numerous opportunities, Malaysia also faces the challenge of insufficient funds and talent reserves in the process of urbanization transformation. He said that urbanization and urban upgrading require a lot of money, but for developing countries, it is not easy to invest huge sums of money in an all-round way, which may lead to the imbalance of urban and rural development, thus creating a deeper social gap.

      Zhang Yugang believes that "Beijing and many other big cities in China have provided reference for Malaysia in terms of smart city development and green development." Through visits and research, he found that Beijing is moving towards green development goals such as "double carbon". The process is very fast. Taxis on Beijing's roads and electric vehicles ridden by residents mostly use clean energy, which not only improves residents' quality of life, but also makes the city quieter and more environmentally friendly.

      Zhang Yugang said that he came to Beijing every two or three years. In his view, Beijing has changed too much in recent years, especially in terms of the popularization of new energy vehicles. "China is indeed ahead of us in urban upgrading." Therefore, China can provide important support to Malaysia in terms of technology and talent training.

      Taking the protection of cultural heritage in urban development as an example, Zhang Yugang pointed out that Malaysia neglected the protection of historical sites and cultural heritage in the process of urbanization, and many historic buildings and cultural heritage have not been properly preserved. In the process of learning and exchange accepted by Beijing Jiaotong University, Zhang Yugang noticed that Chinese experts and scholars have been actively exploring how to find a balance between developing and protecting historical heritage.

      "If we can work hard on talent cultivation, such as letting our students and technicians receive training in China, they will be able to gain valuable experience from China's development. When they return to Malaysia, these experiences may help us avoid repeating the same mistakes," he said.

      When talking about the cooperation between Malaysia and China in urban development, Zhang Yugang also pointed out that there is great potential for cooperation between the two sides under the "the belt and road initiative" initiative. The East Coast Rail Project (ECRL) jointly promoted by the two countries will significantly enhance Malaysia's position in international freight transportation.

      Finally, Zhang Yugang concluded, "I look forward to a closer exchange of talents, technology and experience between the two sides."