KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 6 -- "There's a Malay proverb says 'Flowing water cannot be severed' and there's no better term to describe the traditional friendly relations between China and Malaysia," said Chinese President Xi Jinping during his October visit to Malaysia.

Xi's visit ushered in a new era in Sino-Malaysian ties and serves as a significant milestone since the two countries established diplomatic relations nearly four decades ago. As China and Malaysia celebrating the 40th anniversary of formal ties in 2014, great opportunities await.

LONG-STANDING FRIENDSHIP

"Our two countries have proven to be good neighbors, good friends and good partners who have gone through thick and thin together," Xi told an economic forum in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

He mentioned how both countries had worked together following the 1997 and 2008 financial crises, and the assistance extended by Malaysia to China in the aftermath of the devastating Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

The traditional friendship dates back centuries ago, when the great Chinese navigator Zheng He arrived in Malacca Sultanate on the Malay Peninsula during China's Ming Dynasty, extending the hands of friendship to the people in a faraway land.

Six hundred years later in 1974, Malaysia, led by its second Prime Minister Abdul Razak bin Hussein, made a brave step by becoming the first member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to tie the knot with China, when its peers were held back by ideological differences.

"Prime Minister Razak was far-sighted in making the breakthrough," said Bong Hon Liong, president of Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, who witnessed the rapid development of bilateral relations during his business career in both countries for more than two decades.