Abdullah's visit enhances China-Malaysia cooperation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, September 21, 2003

Abdullah's visit enhances China-Malaysia cooperation

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's five-day official visit to China has been described as a "huge success," which has cemented the bilateral ties.

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Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's five-day official visit to China has been described as a "huge success," which has cemented the bilateral ties.

At a press conference at the airport after returning home from the overseas trip on Friday, Abdullah said his visit is highly successful and he is happy that he can meet so many of China's leaders to exchange views with them.

"We had warm and cordial discussions. We discussed bilateral trade and issues affecting East Asia, ASEAN, West Asia and also regarding the UN," he said, adding that his visit to China has enabled both countries to forge closer cooperation in the fields of biotechnology, education and information and communications technology (ICT).

Abdullah, who lead a 250-member delegation comprising eight cabinet ministers, four state chief ministers, three deputy ministers and large number of leading businessmen, arrived in Beijing on Sunday for his first visit to China as the deputy prime minister, which also took him to southern China's coastal city of Xiamen.

He spent three days in Beijing where he had fruitful discussions with Chinese top leaders including President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-Premier Huang Ju.

Their discussions centered on forging greater bilateral relations and cooperation in trade and economy, particularly in the fields of science and technology, biotechnology, ICT, space technology, agriculture, tourism and education.

The visit culminated in the conclusion of five agreements and memoranda of understanding between China and Malaysia. The trip also saw the signing of 15 documents of mutual cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.

These developments in the government-to-government and people-to-people relations have not only deepened the friendship and ties but also widened the scope of mutual cooperation, local newspaper Sin Chew Daily said in a commentary.

The success of discussions between Abdullah, who will take the helm of Malaysia after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 77, retires in October this year, and the newly-elected Chinese leadership has a special significance for the bilateral relations, an analyst here observed.

In their discussions, Abdullah promised that Malaysia will stick to Mahathir's One-China policy and that he is determined to push the bilateral ties to new heights, which guaranteed bright prospects for the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The China-Malaysia relations have expanded rapidly in recent years with the two-way trade amounting to 14.3 billion US dollar last year, up 51 percent over the previous year.

China is Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner, the fifth largest export market and the fourth largest source of imports while Malaysia is China's largest trading partner in South East Asian region.

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