Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Met with Wang Yi
On August 1, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Perdana Putra in Kuala Lumpur.
Prime Minister Mahathir said that Malaysia and China are longterm friends and the large group of Chinese living in Malaysia have made important contributions to his country’s economic development. In the past, China never invaded its Asian neighbors. And today, China is making positive contributions to promoting openness and prosperity of the region. The Belt and Road Initiative for the 21st century proposed by President Xi Jinping presents a significant opportunity for regional countries to develop and prosper together and will enjoy Malaysia’s support and participation.
Prime Minister Mahathir noted that a growing and more developed China brings greater and bigger opportunities for Malaysia. A sound Malaysia-China relationship is beneficial not only to Malaysia’s development but also to regional peace and prosperity. Going forward, Malaysia and China should make their ties closer. I look forward to visiting China very soon to show the new government’s resolve to carry forward bilateral ties and learn from China’s successes. We hope that more Chinese enterprises, especially high-tech ones, could enhance their investments in Malaysia.
Wang Yi sent sincere regards from Chinese leaders to Prime Minister Mahathir and handed over a rely letter to him from Premier Li Keqiang. Wang Yi said that he appreciates that Prime Minister Mahathir h a s explicitly stressed his friendly policies towards China on many occasions.
Wang Yi said that Prime Minister Mahathir has been a good friend to the Chinese people for a long time and China-Malaysia ties achieved rapid developments during Prime Minister Mahathir’s long term in office. As Malaysia welcomes its new government, China-Malaysia relations are standing at a new historical starting point. By making China its first top of official visits to a country outside ASEAN, Prime Minister Mahathir demonstrates the great importance he attaches to China and the amicable feelings he has towards China. The two countries are highly complementary economically with enormous cooperation potential. China stands ready to work with Malaysia and take Prime Minister Mahathir’s visit as an opportunity to lay out comprehensive plans for future bilateral cooperation and usher in a bright future for China-Malaysia relations. China appreciates Malaysia’s support to the Belt and Road Initiative. Malaysia has the conditions to play a unique and important role in jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative as it sits at an intersection of land and sea. We believe that Malaysia’s active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative will broaden the prospects of China-Malaysia cooperation, provide strong boost to Malaysia’s national development, and contribute to Asia’s prosperity and rejuvenation.
The two sides also exchanged views on the regional situation and trade frictions between China and the US, and agreed that trade wars produce no winners. In face of rising protectionism and backlashes against globalization, China and Malaysia as well as other regional countries should commit themselves to the building of the East Asia economic community and uphold emerging economies’ solidarity and legitimate rights and interests for development.