Kuala lumpur: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) today signed a collaboration agreement with CAIQ Biosecurity Sdn Bhd under the Malaysia-China Gateway Initiative (MCGi), enhancing technical compliance support and strengthening market readiness among Malaysian exporters seeking to expand into China. MATRADE said the initiative aims to support Malaysian companies, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in better understanding China's import-related requirements, including product testing, documentation, labelling, traceability and related regulatory procedures.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, rather than functioning as a standalone training or advisory programme, MCGi is designed as a practical implementation platform that guides companies through a structured pathway from initial interest and assessment to compliance preparation, market access, buyer engagement, and export follow-up. This pathway connects technical readiness with MATRADE's existing market development platforms, including export promotion activities, business matching, and digital trade channels.
MATRADE chairman Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican highlighted the increasing demand for high-quality Malaysian products, noting that many Malaysian companies, particularly SMEs, face challenges in understanding and fulfilling China's regulatory and technical requirements. He explained that these challenges include product registration and procedures related to the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) and the National Medical Products Administration of the People's Republic of China (NMPA), which is China's equivalent of Malaysia's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). Support will also cover laboratory testing, certification, Chinese labelling requirements, traceability, documentation, and trademark registration.
Reezal Merican emphasized the MCGi's role in replacing uncertainty with clarity, transforming barriers into pathways, and converting potential into performance by integrating market access facilitation with technical compliance support. This initiative aims to help Malaysian companies enter China faster, comply better, and scale further.
The scope of products under MCGi includes agriculture, aquatic products, food and health food, cosmetics, healthcare and pet care products, and commodities. The initiative serves as a long-term intervention to diversify Malaysia's export mix, which is currently heavily concentrated in commodities and industrial products exported to China, such as palm oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and electrical and electronic components. By commercializing higher-value, consumer-facing sectors, MCGi aims to help Malaysia capture higher margins, reduce reliance on a narrow export base, and align with Chinese consumer demand for quality and authenticity. A key focus of this initiative is the promotion of Geographical Indication (GI) products.
Reezal Merican stated that premium positioning alone is not enough, as these products must also meet stringent regulatory and technical requirements. MCGi plays an important role in transforming Malaysian GI products from local treasures into export-ready premium brands capable of gaining buyer confidence and achieving sustainable commercial success.
To ensure the initiative delivers measurable results, Reezal Merican set a target for a report to be submitted to MATRADE every six months on the number of companies that successfully entered the Chinese market, stressing that market entry alone is not sufficient. Companies need to be resilient to keep penetrating the market due to disruption in supply, especially given current geopolitical tensions. To support this, MATRADE and CAIQ Biosecurity will establish a joint monitoring mechanism to review implementation and resolve operational hurdles.
Indicative results to be tracked include the number of companies assessed and receiving compliance support, products undergoing registration, export leads generated, and actual export sales. Feedback from participating companies will also be utilized to identify and bypass recurring regulatory obstacles.
Today, China remains Malaysia's second-largest trading partner in ASEAN, with bilateral trade reaching RM541.54 billion (US$126.81 billion) in 2025, accounting for 17.7 per cent of Malaysia's total global trade. The strong momentum has continued into 2026, with bilateral trade growing by 26.8 per cent in the first five months of the year to RM261.32 billion (US$65.89 billion).