KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Close and stable ties between China and Malaysia will help Malaysia achieve its long-term goal of an economic development driven by technological innovation, Malaysian Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has said.

With China having achieved significant technological advancements and the relations between the two countries at an all-time high, this is an opportune moment to fully capitalize on the opportunities for collaboration, Rafizi told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

"China has been able to demonstrate a very robust model for that, therefore there's a lot to learn and to collaborate, and this is reflected in the way the public thinks about Malaysia and China's relations," he said.

As Malaysia pursues the adoption of new energy vehicles along with the development of associated technologies, infrastructure and industries, Rafizi noted that these efforts would benefit Malaysia's proximity to and relationship with China, which leads the world in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries and other advancements in the sector.

Since 2023, the energy transition has become a key policy drive and key trust of Malaysia's economic transformation, which means that it will accelerate trade between Malaysia and China in renewable materials, EPCC (engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning) and project delivery, as well as technology and expertise, he said.

Rafizi also highlighted Malaysia's strategic position in the global supply chain and its efforts to enhance its capacity to serve the growing demand for data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). He emphasized the goal of building, supporting, and maintaining components for these sectors within Malaysia.

"Within 10 years, we would like to see data centers go through their life cycle when it comes to the replenishment of new chips, data servers, and likewise, and new data centers have to be built. We would like to see those chips and the expertise to build and operate, this is actually from local content, and it's just a natural progression from a back-end operation to also include, vertically, the front-end operation," he said.

Rafizi further noted that Malaysia's close cooperation and technological access with China, along with its strategic position within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic sphere, would help the country navigate challenges posed by geopolitical tensions and protectionism.