By Shikin Louis
KUCHING (Aug 3): Chinese city Zhengzhou has proposed exploring a cross-border wellness model with Kuching South, citing the city’s comfortable environment, liveability and potential demand for the health and wellness industry.
Foreign Affairs Office of Zhengzhou Municipal People’s Government director Wei Wei said the proposal was among several potential cooperation areas identified through preliminary research conducted ahead of her visit to Kuching.
Speaking during a press conference after a courtesy call on Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng at his office yesterday (Aug 2), Wei said cultural tourism would be the first area to strengthen exchanges between the two friendship cities.
“Based on our preliminary in-depth research, the first area is our cultural tourism sector. We believe cultural tourism can serve as a bridge to promote cooperation and develop inbound and outbound tourism between our two regions,” she said.
Wei said greater movement of people between Zhengzhou and Kuching South would help strengthen connections and create more opportunities for cultural cooperation and businesses.
She added that another area identified was the health and wellness industry, which she believed was highly suitable for Kuching South.
“During my earlier visits here, I also conducted related research and prepared reports. Based on this, I feel the health and wellness industry is very suitable here.
“Firstly, the overall comfort and liveability of this place are very good. Secondly, there is demand for the health and wellness industry,” she explained.
Wei said Zhengzhou hoped to explore a new concept involving a phased, international, residential-style wellness model.
“Apart from local wellness services, we can also bring suitable-age participants from Zhengzhou and China to take part in phased, international and residential-style wellness programmes,” she said.
She described the idea as a new proposal that could be experimented with, adding that Zhengzhou hoped to further discuss the concept and advance related work.
Meanwhile, Wee said the proposal was timely, noting that Sarawak was expected to enter an ageing population demographic by 2028.
He said Kuching had also been recognised under the World Health Organization’s healthy cities network, making the wellness sector an area with potential.
Wee said Zhengzhou and Kuching South’s friendship-city relationship was still relatively young, having been established for almost two years, but cooperation had progressed significantly.
“In actual fact, we are quite young in our friendship city (relationship), for almost two years. But a lot has been developed because, if I’m not wrong, this is one of the friendship cities that I visit quite frequently. I was there at least two or three times,” he said.
He said Zhengzhou’s delegation had also brought entrepreneurs to look into potential cooperation in areas including ageing facilities, health and wellness, manufacturing and packaging design.
“Other than that, they were talking about ageing. They are talking about the health and wellness sector. They are also very strong in manufacturing, especially on packaging and design,” he said.
Wei also said packaging design was another area with potential, noting that Malaysia’s resources and Zhengzhou’s manufacturing capabilities could complement each other in meeting global market needs.
She also highlighted agriculture as another possible area of cooperation, saying Henan Province possessed strong agricultural science and technology capabilities, while East Malaysia had significant potential in the sector.
Wei said agricultural universities in Henan were willing to work with Malaysian counterparts to contribute expertise and support cooperation.
On education, Wei proposed expanding exchanges beyond university-level students to include a full education chain from kindergarten, primary and secondary schools to higher education.
She also introduced the concept of “parenting schools”, which she described as an area with potential for cooperation between Zhengzhou and Malaysia.
Wei said Zhengzhou hoped to strengthen exchanges involving teachers, students and parents to create mutual benefits for both sides.
Zhengzhou Mayor Zhuang Jianqiu, who was unable to attend the courtesy call in person, delivered a video message reaffirming the Chinese city’s commitment to strengthening cooperation and exchanges with Kuching South.
Wee said friendship-city agreements should not remain merely on paper, but should translate into practical cooperation that benefits both communities.
“We don’t sign and leave it as paper. We sign because we know that it will benefit both cities, either for the people or for the country,” he said.
He also highlighted early outcomes from the friendship-city ties, including Chinese beverage brand Mixue’s expansion plans in Sarawak and ongoing discussions with a Chinese-listed company on potential agriculture and animal husbandry cooperation. — DayakDaily
