China, Malaysia launch joint industrial park (2)

"It's a very unique cooperation," said Datuk Iskandar Sarudin, the Malaysian ambassador to China.

"China and Malaysia might be the only two countries in the world to open industrial parks mutually with each other. Surely it is iconic," he said.

He said the idea of building industrial parks was brought up and actively responded to with high-level support from government leaders.

The Qinzhou industrial park is at the infrastructure-building stage. Now, along with the opening of Kuantan park, the twin parks can cooperate and complement each other and become new hubs that fuel China-ASEAN cooperation, said the ambassador.

The park comes at a time when the two countries see increasing confidence in each other, which is boosted by stronger bonds. China is Malaysia's largest export market and accounts for one sixth of Malaysia's imports. Najib said the two countries are expecting two-way trade to reach $100 billion in the next five years.

Later on Monday, Jia and Najib also witnessed the signing of an agreement to establish a campus of China's Xiamen University in Malaysia.

It was the first time a Chinese university has agreed to build a branch in a foreign country. Local newspapers saw the move as China's acknowledgement of Malaysia being an education hub.