Let the Ship of China-Malaysia Friendship Sail Towards an Even Brighter Future

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

At the invitation of His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, I will soon pay a state visit to Malaysia. This is my second visit to this beautiful country after an interval of 12 years. I look forward to experiencing firsthand the new developments and changes in Malaysia and having in-depth exchanges with Malaysian friends on friendship and cooperation.

China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors facing each other across the sea. The Maritime Silk Road has witnessed the friendly exchanges between our two countries spanning thousands of years. The age-old friendship, like an unbreakable stream, has grown deeper with the passage of history. More than 1,300 years ago, Master Yijing of the Tang Dynasty of China passed through the Malay Peninsula on his sea voyage to seek Buddhist scriptures and was the first to record the history of the ancient Kedah Kingdom in writing. More than 600 years ago, Zheng He, a navigator of the Ming Dynasty of China, visited Malacca five times during his seven ocean voyages, sowing the seeds of peace and friendship. The Sam Po Kong Temple, Bukit China, and Sam Po Well in Malacca carry the deep nostalgia of the local people for him. More than 80 years ago, the Malayan Overseas Chinese Drivers and Mechanics rushed to Yunnan at a critical moment in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, helping to open up the Lifeline of the Yunnan-Burma Road. These heartwarming stories are still widely told among the people of China and Malaysia to this day. Looking back on the past and facing the present, China and Malaysia need to work together to give more impetus to the ship of friendship that has sailed through the long river of history and ensure its steady and long journey.

We need to firmly hold the rudder of strategic guidance. Fifty-one years ago, the leaders of China and Malaysia decided to establish diplomatic relations, breaking through the shadow of the Cold War and pioneering the relations between China and ASEAN countries. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Malaysia have always based on strategic independence, respected each other's development paths, and supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, setting an example of mutual achievement and win-win cooperation between countries. In 2023, I reached an important consensus with Prime Minister Anwar on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. The two sides need to conduct close strategic communication, enhance political mutual trust, implement the cooperation plan between the two governments on Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen the alignment of development strategies and exchanges of experience in governance, and promote the development of bilateral relations through high-level strategic cooperation.

We need to firmly load the ballast stone of practical cooperation. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume between China and Malaysia reached US$212 billion, nearly a thousand times more than that at the time of the establishment of diplomatic relations. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. Malaysian fresh durians can be transported from the orchard to Chinese supermarkets within a day and are very popular among Chinese people. The China-Malaysia Kuantan Industrial Park has completed a cumulative investment of over 11 billion yuan. When all the projects in the park are completed and put into production, they will create many long-term job opportunities. The cooperation potential in such fields as digital economy, green development, industrial investment, and transportation infrastructure construction between the two countries is constantly being unleashed. The two sides need to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen cooperation in industrial and supply chains, and focus on promoting cooperation in digital economy, green economy, blue economy, and tourism economy to boost their respective modernization processes.

We need to row the oars of people-to-people and cultural exchanges. China and Malaysia have mutually exempted visa requirements for the citizens of each other's countries. In 2024, the number of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries was nearly 6 million, exceeding the pre-COVID-19 level. The slogan "Malaysia, Truly Asia" captures the unique charm of Malaysia's culture, history, and scenery, attracting many Chinese tourists to visit for leisure. At the same time, more and more Malaysian tourists visit China to experience its rich ancient charm and colorful modern flavor. The people of China and Malaysia should visit each other frequently like relatives, promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship, especially among the younger generations.

We need to raise the sails of multilateral cooperation. Both China and Malaysia are important developing countries, emerging market economies, and members of the Global South in the Asia-Pacific region. We share similar positions in upholding international fairness and justice and promoting open and inclusive development and have carried out close cooperation within the frameworks of East Asia cooperation, APEC, and the United Nations. China welcomes Malaysia's accession to the BRICS Plus, which conforms to the trend of the times of the Global South's pursuit of unity and self-strengthening and is conducive to safeguarding the common interests of developing countries. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. The two sides need to closely cooperate in international and regional affairs, carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, jointly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and promote the development of global governance in a more just and reasonable direction. We need to safeguard the multilateral trading system, the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and an open and cooperative international environment.

China and Malaysia are a community with a shared future in terms of security, honor, and adversity. "Share joys and sorrows" is a common proverb in both countries, which reveals the true meaning of the China-Malaysia community with a shared future. The two sides need to be at the forefront and strive to create a bright future of development, growth, and prosperity.

The friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN countries has withstood the test of time and become stronger. Among ASEAN's dialogue partners, China was the first to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the first to establish a free trade area and a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN. China-ASEAN cooperation is the most practical and fruitful in regional cooperation. In the face of challenges such as the Asian financial crisis, the international financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the backlash against economic globalization, the two sides have helped each other, and bilateral cooperation has become increasingly resilient. In 2024, the trade volume between China and ASEAN exceeded US$980 billion, making each other's largest trading partners for five consecutive years. The negotiations on the upgrade of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to version 3.0 have been substantially concluded. More and more high-quality and characteristic products from ASEAN countries have entered Chinese households. Chinese literature, animations, and film and television works have entered ASEAN countries, bringing excellent traditional Chinese culture and the charming flavor of modern life.

China firmly supports ASEAN unity and the building of the ASEAN Community and supports ASEAN's centrality in the regional architecture. China fully supports Malaysia in its tenure as the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2025 and looks forward to Malaysia playing a better bridging role as the coordinator of China-ASEAN relations. China is advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation in an all-round way through Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization is a path of peaceful development. China is willing to work with other countries to achieve peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and common prosperity. The Chinese economy has a solid foundation, many advantages, strong resilience, and great potential. The supporting conditions and the basic trend of long-term improvement remain unchanged. China has set its economic growth target for 2025 at around 5%. It will continue to promote high-quality development, expand high-level opening up, share development opportunities with other countries, and bring more stability and certainty to the regional and even global economy.

Unity is strength, and cooperation leads to win-win results. China is willing to work with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to follow the historical trend of peace and development, resist the undercurrents of geopolitics and bloc confrontation, break through the backwash of unilateralism and protectionism, push forward the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future, and jointly build an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.