Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim in Beijing on Thursday, calling on the two sides to take the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties to promote and enrich the China-Malaysia community with a shared future.

Noting that China and Malaysia are good neighbors, good friends and good partners, Xi said the two countries have maintained close interactions and exchanges at all levels and advanced mutually beneficial cooperation with high quality on all fronts since Anwar's first China visit in March last year after taking office as prime minister, delivering tangible benefits to the two peoples, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

China and Malaysia are both at crucial stages of national development and rejuvenation, Xi said. "The two sides should take the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the China-Malaysia Year of Friendship as an opportunity to work together for a more concrete China-Malaysia community with a shared future, to help each other achieve their development goals, and to make new and greater contributions to regional prosperity and stability," said Xi.

Chinese experts said that China-Malaysia relations have played a pioneering and exemplary role in regional cooperation. The relationship between the two countries has transcended the bilateral sphere, and there is still plenty of room for cooperation and common interests between the two sides in the economic and trade fields, as well as in regional and international affairs.

Anwar previously visited China in March and September 2023, making this trip his third visit to China in two years.  

Anwar's itinerary in Beijing on Thursday also included a stop at Peking University, where he delivered a public lecture, Anwar wrote in his X account. He also visited the Huawei Executive Briefing Center on Thursday.

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries and the Year of China-Malaysia Friendship, with leaders on both sides having frequent interactions. 

In September, President Xi held talks with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in Beijing, pledging to work with Malaysia to bring the building of a China-Malaysia community with a shared future to a new level. Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Malaysia's King and Prime Minister Anwar in June during his visit to Malaysia. 

The close interactions between the two countries not only have a solid historical foundation, but also a strong impetus from practical cooperation, and friendly people-to-people exchanges, Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

China-Malaysia relations have played a pioneering and exemplary role in China's cooperation with regional countries, said Xu, adding that some China-ASEAN cooperation started with China-Malaysia cooperation.

In December 1997, China attended the first China-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia. Malaysia will take up the ASEAN chairmanship in 2025.

Anwar attended the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, where he held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang as well as Chinese investors, industry leaders, and representatives from China's state-run companies.  

As an important member of the Global South, Malaysia upholds the concept of development, free trade and multilateralism, which are highly consistent with China's position and views, Xu said. 

The relationship between China and Malaysia has transcended the bilateral level, and there is much room for cooperation between the two countries in regional and global affairs, Xu said, "Both China and Malaysia uphold multilateralism and oppose decoupling."

Malaysia has played a positive role in cooperating with China in maintaining regional peace, stability, and development," said Shen Shishun, director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Security and Cooperation at the China Institute of International Studies.

"Countries in the Global South have the ability to make independent judgments and the right to exercise their own foreign policy, choosing positions that are just and in line with the interests of their peoples," Shen said. 

At a university event on November 1, Anwar said that he had directly rejected US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's call to stop building friendly relations with Russia on the sidelines of the 19th East Asia Summit in October. Anwar responded to the US by saying, "That's your issue; don't instruct us. We are an independent, sovereign country; we make decisions for our people and our nation."

According to Xu, Anwar's visit is also an opportunity to further promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation to new heights. 

China has been Malaysia's top trading partner for 15 straight years since 2009. Malaysia's total trade with China in 2023 amounted to 680 billion yuan ($95.47 billion), accounting for 17.1 percent of Malaysia's total trade with the entire world, according to Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition to the traditional trade in agricultural products between the two countries, there are considerable complementarities between the two sides in emerging areas such as e-commerce, digital economy and green economy, Xu said, "There is also enormous room for cooperation between the two sides in the field of high-tech."