May 31 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-Malaysia diplomatic relations. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak has followed in his father's footsteps to revisit China, and the trip is of great significance.

Both sides set this year as China-Malaysia friendly exchange year and a series of celebrations will be held.

Sino-Malaysia ties at the forefront of China- ASEAN ties

China and its people will not forget that 40 years ago during the Cold War, Malaysia was the first ASEAN country to establish diplomatic relations with China. The current Prime Minister's father Abdul Razak made the decision to break the ice by visiting China, and thus started the friendly exchanges between the two countries.

20 years ago Malaysia promoted the China-ASEAN dialogue process. On many occasions, Malaysian leaders have emphasized the fact that China is a development opportunity, not a threat.

After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Malaysia made the largest individual donation among overseas countries. Many Malaysians queued for hours to make their donations. Again, after Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 lost contact, many Malaysians prayed and lit candles, and volunteers provided selfless help.

Over the years, China-Malaysia relations have developed smoothly. During the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis, the two stood together to overcome difficulties. In recent years, bilateral relations have seen rapid development: high-level exchanges are frequent; mutual political trust has been enhanced; economic cooperation has made great progress; law enforcement security and defense cooperation have made rapid progress

In 2013 bilateral trade volume exceeded 100 billion US dollars. Malaysia has now been China's largest trading partner among ASEAN countries for the last six years.

Last October, President Xi Jinping made Malaysia an important leg during his maiden Asian tour and lifted China-Malaysia relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Under the complex situation in Asia, Prime Minister Najib Razak's visit to China is a journey of friendship and cooperation and it has important strategic significance.

In the coming five years, China's overseas investment will reach 500 billion US dollars. Experts have predicted 140 billion will flow to South East Asia. The past ten years have been a “golden decade” between China and Malaysia, and the two will embrace their “diamond decade” in the future. Bilateral ties will move far and fast with maturity, mutual trust and all-round development. We believe China-Malaysia ties will make a greater contribution to regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.

The author is Chaixi, former Chinese ambassador to Malaysia.

The article is edited and translated from《中马合作驶入快车道（国际论坛）》, source:  People's Daily