It gives me great pleasure to come once again to the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur for a state visit to Malaysia, at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia. Twelve years ago, I paid my first state visit to Malaysia, which left me with deep and fond memories. It feels particularly warm to set foot on Malaysian soil again. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I wish to extend sincere greetings and best wishes to the Malaysian government and people.
China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors separated only by the sea, with a time-honored friendship stretching back thousands of years. For more than half a century since the establishment of diplomatic ties, our two countries have upheld mutual respect, equality and win-win cooperation, setting a fine example for state-to-state relations. In 2023, the two sides reached important consensus on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future. Last year, we grandly celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. As major developing countries and members of the Global South, deepening high-level strategic cooperation between China and Malaysia serves the shared interests of both countries and contributes to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world at large.
During this visit, I will have in-depth exchanges with His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim and Prime Minister Anwar on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern. I hope this visit will serve as an opportunity to further deepen our time-honored friendship, enhance political mutual trust, advance cooperation on modernization drive, boost exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, and lift the building of the China-Malaysia community with a shared future to new heights. I am confident that with joint efforts of both sides, this visit will bear fruitful outcomes, write a new chapter of good-neighborliness and win-win results between China and Malaysia, and usher in a new "Golden 50 Years" for China-Malaysia relations.
