China is confident that Malaysia will continue to flourish and develop under the leadership of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said China’s visiting Councillor of the State Council and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi.
Since Dr Mahathir took office on May 9, he said China was happy to see the achievements that Malaysia had made.
“We respect the choice made by the Malaysian people and we support Malaysia in full path of development that suits Malaysia’s own development conditions. We are happy to see that since the assumption of office by Dr Mahathir, many dimensions had been opened up for the national development of Malaysia.
“As Malaysia’s good friend, China is happy to see these achievements that Malaysia has made and we have confidence under the leadership of Dr Mahathir, the people of Malaysia will stay united and achieve new glory and Malaysia is bound to play a more active and important role in regional and global affairs,” he said in a joint press conference on Tuesday (July 31).
Earlier, Wang held almost three hours of talks with Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, discussing bilateral and regional issues at Wisma Putra.
“He is friendly towards China and we dearly cherish the friendship that has been built with him (Dr Mahathir) over the years. And we (China) believe, that during his (Dr Mahathir’s) visit, there will be even stronger mutual trust built between the leaders of our two countries,” he added.
Besides accepting the invitation of Saifuddin, Wang said his two-day working visit was to prepare with his Malaysian counterparts Dr Mahathir’s official visit to China in mid-August.
He added that during Dr Mahathir’s visit, China and Malaysia leaders will map out a new blueprint for mutually beneficial cooperation.
“We appreciate Dr Mahathir’s active support and participation in the construction of the Belt and Road initiative that will open up new potential cooperation areas of opportunities between China and Malaysia in order to achieve a common progress and prosperity,” he added.
“China attaches high importance in relations with Malaysia and puts Malaysia on an important place with China’s diplomacy especially to deepen cooperation and deliver benefits to the people of both countries,” he said, adding that China would never interfere with Malaysia’s internal affairs.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said Malaysia would continue to regard China as a good neighbour and an important partner.
He revealed that the meeting with Wang was very constructive and fruitful as both exchanged views on various issues such as exploring further areas of trade and investment, education, tourism, agriculture and security.
“On bilateral economic relations, we are both pleased with the steady progress that has been made over the years as China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, since 2009. Malaysia was China’s ninth largest trading partner, and second largest among other Asean countries last year.
“Other issues we touched on were to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, and welcoming closer coordination and cooperation between China and Asean member states.”
“Disputes should be addressed through peaceful means, including through regional dialogue and discussions amongst the parties concerned, without resorting to threats or the use of force,” Saifuddin said.
On Dr Mahathir’s visit to China, he said both leaders were confident that it would set a new milestone and they were looking forward to making it a successful visit.
Wang will call on Dr Mahathir on Wednesday.