President Xi Jinping met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Beijing yesterday.
Earlier yesterday Premier Li Keqiang made remarks during a joint press conference with Mahathir in Beijing.
Li reiterated that there is no winner in trade frictions and he and his Malaysian counterpart agreed to advocate free trade and globalization and to share common interests.
Speaking of the ongoing trade frictions, Li took river water quality as an example, saying if the water is polluted, then not only the fish but also the creature in the river will be affected.
He also said that China will push forward the mutual benefits realized between the two countries, boost bilateral ties to a new height, and find new growth in the upgrading traditional industry and innovation in new industries.
Mahathir said that the innovative and new ideas could be applied to Malaysia. The country believes that it will benefit from cooperating with China.
The Malaysian prime minister noted that his country can learn a lot from China, as China is a big country and a prosperous market built by very dynamic people. He believed that China’s investment in Malaysia will solve some of their internal fiscal problems.
Ahead of the press conference, the two leaders witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding between the two governments, which cover cross-border accounting and audit regulatory cooperation, and durian and palm oil trade.
Earlier in the day, Li held a welcome ceremony for his Malaysian counterpart at the Great Hall of the People, and then the two held an in-depth discussion on bilateral ties.
Li said China and Malaysia share strong and stable ties, and China will not change its friendly policy towards Malaysia.
Mahathir thanked Li for the hospitality. He stressed the long history of the good and neighborly relations between the two countries.
He said Malaysia seeks mutual beneficiaries even when there are ups and downs. He said one of the important targets for him back at the office is to strengthen ties in various fields between China and Malaysia.
Mahathir arrived in Beijing on Saturday, the second leg of his official visit to China and he has already met with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The recently-elected Malaysian leader chose Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang Province as the first stop of his trip. There, he visited the headquarters of automaker Geely and e-commerce giant Alibaba.
(CGTN)