China, Malaysia agree to expand, strengthen key BRI projects

Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah (L) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Tuesday, with both sides agreeing to expedite practical cooperation and advance the key Belt and Road projects.

Abdullah said China is not only Malaysia's largest trading partner, but also its important strategic partner. The two sides have jointly made remarkable achievements in fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and great progress on the industrial park projects of the two countries, which have injected strong impetus to Malaysia's economic development.

The Malaysian side expects to keep high-level exchanges with the Chinese side, enhance docking between the various departments and regions of the two countries, and speed up practical cooperation, he said.

The supreme head of state welcomes more Chinese investment, and expressed willingness to jointly build the major projects of the Belt and Road with China to set an example of interconnectivity.

Wang said China has been the largest trade partner of Malaysia for 13 consecutive years, and the all-round cooperation between the two countries has been fruitful, boosting both countries' development and rejuvenation, and delivering huge benefits to the two peoples.

China is willing to work with Malaysia to strengthen the docking of development strategies, build the Belt and Road with high quality, expand and strengthen key projects, establish a pilot zone for production capacity cooperation and a pioneer zone for innovation, and help Malaysia give full play to its resources and advantageous location, and upgrade its industrialization, he said.

He added that China stands ready to collaborate with Malaysia to adhere to open regionalism, safeguard the hard-won peace, stability and development in the region, and make greater contributions to development and advancement of humankind.

Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.