IN the pleasant weather of June, His Excellency Li Qiang, premier of the State Council of China, made his official visit to Malaysia from June 18 to 20, in honour of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of China-Malaysia diplomatic relations.
The premier had an audience with His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for an in-depth exchange of views.
The premier and prime minister jointly attended the dinner reception and business luncheon of the 50th anniversary celebration and attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Gombak Integrated Terminal Station of the East Coast Rail Link project (ECRL).
During this visit, the premier and the Chinese delegation members keenly felt the courtesy offered by the Malaysian government, which was sweetened by the genuine warmth and sincerity given by the Malaysian people to their Chinese friends. This visit was concluded with great success, witnessing a new height in our bilateral relations.
As an important achievement, a strategic, forward-looking and detailed joint statement on “Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership towards China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Future” was issued on June 20, which is a good reflection of the comprehensive consensus achieved by both sides in many collaborative fields.
China and Malaysia have agreed to forge strategic mutual trust to consolidate the political foundation in building the China-Malaysia community with a shared future.
Leaders of both countries have played a pivotal role in steering and upgrading the development of bilateral relations.
President Xi Jinping visited Malaysia in 2013, which led to the elevation of China-Malaysia relations.
Ten years later, Anwar visited China twice in the same year, reaching an important consensus with the president on jointly building the China-Malaysia community with a shared future, uplifting bilateral relations to new heights.
Recently, Li successfully concluded his official visit to Malaysia, marking the highlight of China-Malaysia’s 50th anniversary celebration. China and Malaysia will continue to develop bilateral relations as a priority in their respective foreign policy.
Malaysia highly commends the concepts put forward by Xi, including building a shared community for mankind, the Belt and Road Initiative, the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in neighbourhood diplomacy, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative.
Similarly, China fully supports the fundamental principles of Malaysia Madani.
China and Malaysia have agreed to synergise their development strategies.
Both sides will continue to inject new impetus into the “Belt and Road Initiative” and the “Madani Economy Framework”, keep strengthening cooperation in trade, investment and infrastructure connectivity between the two countries and continue to work closely to promote key projects, such as ECRL and the “Two Countries, Twin Parks”, to bring more benefits to the people of both countries.
This visit has seen 14 cooperation documents signed and exchanged between the two governments, covering areas of digital economy, green development, science and technology, among others.
We will take full advantage of these great opportunities to develop new quality productive forces and unleash the great potential hidden in emerging industries.
Malaysia welcomes China’s application to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and China appreciates Malaysia providing open and fair opportunities for Chinese enterprises to participate in Malaysia’s 5G network construction.
China welcomes Malaysia’s export of more high quality agricultural products to China. When the news “fresh durian can be exported to China” was released, it became the glaring headlines in major media, bringing great joy to businesses and ordinary people of the two countries.
China and Malaysia have agreed to promote social exchanges to consolidate the people-to-people bond. China will extend visa exemption for Malaysian citizens until the end of 2025, and Malaysia will do the same for Chinese citizens until the end of 2026.
China and Malaysia will continue consultations and discussions on mutual visa exemptions to further facilitate people exchange.
Giant pandas are China and Malaysia’s friendship ambassadors who are deeply adored and loved by both peoples. Now, the two countries have confirmed to conduct a new round of panda protection joint research.
China and Malaysia have agreed to jointly nominate the lion dance to be included in the Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to better preserve and promote this shared heritage in the modern era.
Malaysia will become country coordinator for the China-Asean Dialogue Relations this July and assume the Asean chairmanship next year.
China will work with Malaysia to build a closer China-Asean community with a shared future. As the South China Sea remains our shared maritime domain, China and Malaysia will initiate bilateral dialogues on managing maritime issues to strengthen cooperation while ensuring the continued peace, security and stability of the region.
Both countries have also pledged full support for the resumption of the political settlement process of the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution, and they will collaborate to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution of the issue at the earliest opportunity.
At this new historical juncture, China and Malaysia will work closely to advance steadily towards modernisation under the guidance of both countries’ leaders, aiming to make the next 50 years another golden era in China-Malaysia relations.
Ouyang Yujing is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Malaysia.
