Together with Securities Commission Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia co-chairs a Joint Committee comprising officials from the stock exchange and industry to collaborate on building climate resilience within the Malaysian financial sector. We are currently developing a principles-based taxonomy – to guide financial institutions to classify economic activities that contribute to climate change objectives. These complement efforts by the Islamic finance industry in driving the sustainability agenda through the value-based 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  intermediation strategy. There are many reasons to be optimistic on the future of ASEAN-China economic ties. ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner in first quarter 2020. Trade and investment flows grew despite the crisis. China’s direct investment in ASEAN in first three quarters this year surged 76.6 percent year-on-year. 1 Investment from ASEAN into China increased by 6.6 percent yearon-year, and Malaysia is among the top investors.2 Many cooperative projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative resumed rapidly after the initial shock of COVID-19. I echo our Prime Minister’s call last week for ASEAN and China to fully tap the potential of the digital economy as part of our efforts to build a stronger economic region. Opportunities can also be unlocked for investments on green infrastructure – such as renewable and energy-efficient technologies, as well as addressing basic infrastructure gaps in a fiscally constrained environment. Malaysia certainly welcomes China as a partner in this journey and we hope to see closer relations with Chongqing.
I am certain this Summit will explore these further and I wish the Summit success. Thank you. 1  Remarks by Ambassador Deng Xijun at the 3rd Jakarta Forum on ASEAN-China Relations in 2020: “Reinforcing Regional Economic Recovery amid COVID-19”, 2 November 2020. 2 Malaysia is number three after Singapore and Thailand. 2/2  BIS central bankers' speeches