The two countries have established a close partnership in the digital economy, including e-commerce, electronic payments and cloud computing, the report said. By working together, China could expand its presence in the Southeast Asian digital economy market, and Malaysia could embrace technological upgrading, creating a win-win situation, it said.

Both sides are working together in financial development. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding with Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia's stock exchange, in 2020 to promote investment flows between the two sides. Under the agreement, the two sides would display selected mutual benchmark index constituents of their respective markets on both exchanges' websites.

Beh is confident Malaysia will boost bilateral exchanges with China in a wide range of areas. They include stepping up cooperation in developing COVID-19 vaccines and drug research, facilitating industrial upgrade and innovation-driven development to foster new sources of growth with 5G and the digital economy, working together in the fields of energy, modern agriculture, intensive food processing and halal food certification.

For the Greater Bay Area, the focus will be on trade and investment, technological innovation, tourism and education, stresses Beh.

In his view, it's important to adopt a "new and creative" approach to intensify bilateral cooperation amid the pandemic, such as promoting online operations and sales on e-commerce platforms with key opinion leaders to enhance the image of Malaysian products and brands, and increase their awareness among Chinese consumers.