Malaysia, China reaffirm friendship, cooperation in historic meeting

2 April 2023

By Wartawan Nabalu News

BEIJING: Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in a historic visit that marked the 10th anniversary of the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership.

Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said, both leaders held comprehensive and fruitful talks at the Great Hall of the People, where they discussed ways to deepen and broaden bilateral relations in various fields, including trade, investment, education, culture, and regional issues.

"They also recalled the historical links between Malaysia and China, dating back to the 15th century, and reaffirmed their solid commitment to further strengthen the time-honoured friendship between the two emerging developing countries.

"President Xi welcomed Prime Minister Anwar’s inaugural official visit, which took place four months after he assumed office and during the holy month of Ramadan. He said this reflected the strong desire of both sides to advance the Malaysia-China partnership to greater heights.

"During the visit, Anwar assured President Xi that he was visiting China as a true and sincere friend," said the same statement.

Anwar also expressed support for the principles and values of President Xi’s global initiatives and his vision of a community for a shared future for mankind, including the proposal for a Malaysia-China community for a shared future.

The two leaders agreed to leverage on the 10th anniversary of the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership this year, and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year, to build on their strong foundations and set clear and ambitious strategic directions for their future cooperation.

"Anwar also reaffirmed the strong economic relations between both countries, citing the burgeoning trade figures, flagship projects under the Belt and Road Initiative such as the East Coast Rail Link, as well as the Two Countries, Twin Parks in Kuantan and Qinzhou.

"He welcomed further Chinese investments and collaboration in new emerging sectors such as digital economy, agricultural modernization and trade, and renewable energy.

"He encouraged China’s involvement in Automotive High-Tech Valley (AHTV). In addition, he expressed Malaysia’s willingness to export more to China, including in agro-commodities sector," cited the statement.

Meanwhile, President Xi emphasized China’s new paradigm of development, with its focus on opening up as well as on high-quality development and cooperation. He said this would unlock new opportunities for a much greater collaboration, particularly in trade and investment.

He also highlighted the importance of building on the already good momentum by exploring new areas such as renewable energy, semiconductors and digital economy. He hoped for policy support for Chinese investments in Malaysia.

Besides that, Anwar apprised President Xi of his visit to Tsinghua University, the president’s alma mater, during which he delivered a lecture and met Malaysian students, who constituted the largest number of international students there. He welcomed Tsinghua University to set up its first branch campus in Malaysia. He also looked forward to concrete cooperation on TVET and increase in the number of students from China in Malaysia.

Both leaders stressed that as Asian countries, Malaysia and China share common civilizational values such as mutual respect, inclusiveness, justice, care and compassion. At the same time, both governments are focused on people-centered development, including efforts aimed at eradicating poverty and environmental protection, as well as on promoting peace, security and prosperity for all. President Xi shared his efforts on poverty eradication and China’s readiness to share experience in this area.

Therefore, Xi expressed his support for the Malaysian Unity Government’s Malaysia Madani concept. For his own part, Prime Minister Anwar expressed support for the principles and values of President Xi Jinping’s global initiatives and his vision of a community for a shared future for mankind, including the proposal for a Malaysia-China community for a shared future.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues. They agreed that cooperative approaches, particularly dialogue and multilateralism were the best ways of overcoming challenges and chaos at the regional and global levels. In this regard, they expressed their unequivocal support for ASEAN centrality.