SHAH ALAM, Dec 18 ― The government plans to strengthen diplomatic ties with the Chinese government through education in the future.

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said various initiatives have been taken in achieving this objective following her working visit to the republic in September.

"I went to Beijing and met up with China's Deputy Education Minister, Zheng Fuzhi. We discussed the possible cooperation between the two ministries and signed a memorandum of understanding with Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) in relation to scholarships.

"We hope after all the discussions during the working visit we will have the support of the Chinese government,” she said in her speech at the China Cultural Day 2019 dinner at Dewan Agung Tuanku Canselor, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here, last night.

The dinner was to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia.

Also present at the event were Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian, UiTM board of directors chairman Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir and UiTM vice-chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Ir Dr Mohd Azraai Kassim.

Teo noted that since 2015, Malaysia has become an attraction for students from China to further their studies and until October this year, 16,503 students from the country have pursued their tertiary education here.

Teo added that educational institutions in Malaysia must re-evaluate the course fees offered to attract more students from China to pursue their studies here.

At the event, Bai Tian presented a mock cheque of RM410,000 to Mohd Azraai to cover the costs of special equipment and smart meeting rooms at UiTM. ― Bernama