Chinese premier meets with Malaysia's king

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Friday.

Li noted that China and Malaysia have a solid foundation of mutual trust and deep-rooted friendship. At present, the two countries stand at the historical juncture of the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations, marching forward hand in hand toward the goal of building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future.

China is willing to work with Malaysia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, maintain close and high-level exchanges, promote their traditional friendship, enhance strategic mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, achieve more practical results, and bring more benefits to the people of both countries, Li said.

China is also ready to work with Malaysia to enhance development strategy synergy, promote the upgrading of economic and trade cooperation, upgrade the level of connectivity, and create greater unity to promote development, Li said.

He urged the two sides to give full play to their complementary advantages, continue expanding bilateral trade, steadily advance flagship projects such as the East Coast Rail Link, and deepen cooperation on infrastructure and aerospace. He also called on both countries to expand cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy and new energy, promote the integrated development of industries, and maintain the stability and smooth flows of industrial and supply chains.

China supports more competent Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia, Li noted, adding that the two sides should do more to boost cultural and people-to-people exchange in the fields of youth, education, culture and tourism, facilitate the exchange of personnel, and continuously enhance mutual understanding and friendship.

China is willing to work with Malaysia and other Asian countries to uphold the central position of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in regional cooperation, promote regional economic integration, and build an Asia that has common prosperity and is peaceful, open and inclusive, Li said.

For his part, King Sultan Ibrahim said that Malaysia thinks highly of and actively participates in Belt and Road cooperation, is optimistic about the development opportunities brought about by China's big market, and looks forward to using the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries as an opportunity to enhance cultural exchange and strengthen bilateral cooperation in such fields as the economy, trade, industry, investment, high technologies, agriculture and education.

Malaysia has a high appreciation for the constructive role China plays in international and regional affairs, and is willing to make efforts to promote the development of the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership. Malaysia is also willing to strengthen constructive dialogue with China to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, he added.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)