Xi begins 3-day state visit

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia rolled out the red carpet to welcome President Xi Jinping of China, whose three-day visit is set to usher in a new era in relations between both countries.

The visit is of utmost importance as it signals the commitment of the new Chinese leadership to maintain the longstanding friendly relations with Kuala Lumpur since the establishment of diplomatic relations 39 years ago.

Accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, Xi was greeted by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, upon arrival at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, at 6.35pm.

Others in the Chinese delegation included State Councillor overseeing foreign diplomacy Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng.

Xi arrived here after wrapping up a state visit to Indonesia, the first stop of his maiden trip to Southeast Asia since assuming the presidency in March.

 According to Wisma Putra, the trip will enable Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Xi to chart the future direction of Malaysia-China relations, which includes reaffirming their commitment to strengthen cooperation in all fields and contribute to the prosperity and maintenance of peace and stability in the region.

Today, Xi will be given an official welcome at Parliament, where he is expected to go on a short visit with his presidential entourage.

He is scheduled to meet Najib at the Prime Minister's office in Putrajaya after that.

After the meeting, Xi and Najib will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between 1Malaysia Development Bhd and China Investment Corporation.


Both leaders will later attend a joint press conference before Xi attends a luncheon meeting with Chinese students studying here. He will then proceed to the Malaysia-China Economic Summit held at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

A royal banquet will be held in Istana Negara in Xi's honour.

Tomorrow, Xi is expected to meet former prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Badawi in separate meetings.

He will then meet China embassy officials before departing for Bali, Indonesia in the afternoon.

Bilateral trade between China and Malaysia hit US$94.8 billion (RM303 billion) last year. China has been Malaysia's biggest trade partner for four consecutive years while Malaysia has been the biggest trade partner of China in the Asean region for the past five years.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek summed up Malaysia's relations with the superpower at the "World Chinese Economic Forum Gala dinner and Lifetime achievement awards" last night where he applauded China's remarkable economic growth in the last three decades.

Dr Chua said Malaysia should take advantage of its Chinese speaking populace to build bridges of communication and business links with China.

"The emergence of China as the second economic power in the world has now made Mandarin language to be of great economic value.

"Our trade with Mandarin-speaking nations accounted for 20 per cent of our total trade. If we need to bolster the figures and make more inroads, we need to train more Malaysians to be multi-lingual.

"They must be good in Bahasa, English and Mandarin. Hence, learning Mandarin is not just the cultural reason behind it but because of the immense economic potential that comes with it," he said, adding the centre of gravity had shifted to the East from the West over the past decade with China, India and the economies of Asean being the main engines of growth.

Malaysia remains China's top trading partner in Asean with bilateral trade between Malaysia and China surging 15.7 per cent to reach US$50.92 billion in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year.

From January to June, Malaysia's exports to China grew 3.6 per cent to US$28.74 billion with imports from China valued at US$22.17 billion, up 36.4 per cent year-on-year.

In Jakarta, AFP reported Xi said his country's territorial disputes with Southeast Asia should be resolved in a "peaceful manner".

Xi said China and the 10-member Asean nations should settle territorial and maritime disputes "in a peaceful manner so as to safeguard regional stability and peace".

"Southeast Asia is one important hub of the maritime Silk Road. China is ready to increase maritime cooperation with Asean.

"China attaches great importance to Indonesia's role in Asean and is ready to work together with Indonesia and other Asean countries to make the two sides share the same prosperity."

China has overlapping territorial claims to parts of the sea with several other countries, and tensions have run particularly high with Vietnam and the Philippines.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner held in his honour in Putrajaya last night.

(Source: http://www.nst.com.my)