Chinese president arrives in Kuala Lumpur for state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Thursday for a state visit to Malaysia, the second leg of his maiden trip to Southeast Asia since he assumed presidency in March. During his stay in the country, Xi is scheduled to meet Supreme Head of State Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah. He will also hold talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and the two leaders will attend the China-Malaysia Economic Cooperation Summit. In a related development, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said here Thursday that his country is seeking to further enhance ties with China and tap new areas of cooperation . In an interview with Xinhua ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Malaysia, Najib said Xi's visit signals China's desire to keep up warm ties with Malaysia, which he believes will advance on a strong footing under China's new leadership. "The visit would strengthen and reaffirm the close ties between our two countries and set the future direction," he said. The theme of Xi's Malaysia trip, said Najib, would be to take bilateral ties to a higher level and add fresh impetus to their cooperation. He urged both sides to further tap their cooperation potential by identifying more strategic areas with "low hanging fruits." He is expected to meet with Supreme Head of State Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, hold talks with Najib and attend the China-Malaysia Economic Cooperation Summit. Najib, who will join the Chinese leader in overseeing the signing of a raft of cooperation deals, said the two countries should make their relations more multi-faceted and pervasive by including more areas for cooperation, such as education, technology and finance. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for four consecutive years, while Malaysia has been China's largest trading partner among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for five years in a row. In 2012, two-way trade soared to a record high of 94.8 billion US dollars, nearly a quarter of China's total trade with ASEAN.