China sees another ‘50 golden years’ with Malaysia, says Xi

KUALA LUMPUR: China hopes to begin another “50 golden years” in its bilateral relations with Malaysia, said President Xi Jinping, as he begins his three-day visit on Tuesday here for the first time in 12 years as part of his Asean tour.

Xi embarked this week on a Southeast Asia tour that has already taken him to Vietnam and will also include Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to US President Donald Trump´s punitive tariff regime.

The Chinese leader touched down at the airport in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, where he was greeted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, footage from Chinese state broadcaster CGTN showed.

Xi said he was “looking forward to... further deepening the traditional friendship” between China and Malaysia, CCTV, another Chinese state broadcaster, reported.

He said he would “have an in-depth exchange of views” in meetings with Anwar and king Sultan Ibrahim, according to CCTV.“With the joint efforts of both sides, this visit will surely achieve fruitful results,” the broadcaster reported him as saying.

Xi is scheduled to attend a state banquet at the Malaysian monarch´s palace on Wednesday morning before holding talks with Anwar in the administrative capital Putrajaya.He and Anwar will witness the signing of a range of bilateral agreements, according to the Malaysian foreign ministry.

“China will work with Malaysia... to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, as well as the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism,” Xi wrote in an article for Malaysia´s The Star newspaper on Tuesday.

“We must uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order... and promote fairer and more equitable global governance,” he wrote.China and Malaysia celebrated their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year and enjoy robust trade ties, though Malaysia has partial claims to parts of the South China Sea, where Beijing has staked out near-blanket sovereignty.