Malaysia prepares to welcome Chinese Premier Li Qiang as countries mark 50 years of bilateral ties

Li is scheduled to visit Kuala Lumpur later this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides

China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner and PM Anwar Ibrahim last year visited Beijing, securing investments worth millions from the economic giant

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Malaysia later this year to mark 50 years of bilateral ties with the Southeast Asian country. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:49pm, 30 Mar 2024Updated: 4:49pm, 30 Mar 2024

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has confirmed a visit later this year by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as Beijing marks 50 years of ties with the strategically important Southeast Asian country, home to billions of dollars of real estate investments and crucial to China’s big dreams of regional connectivity.

Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, paid a “courtesy call” to Anwar on Friday as the pair discussed details of the event to be held in Kuala Lumpur in December, marking five decades since the two nations formally established relations.

Malaysia-China diplomatic ties were established in a joint communique between its second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak and premier Zhou Enlai on May 31, 1974, a major shift from the country’s previous staunchly anti-communist stance.

His visit opened the doors to other neighbouring countries to embrace China, with Thailand and Philippines normalising relations with Beijing in the following year.

Since then, China has grown to become Malaysia’s largest trading partner alongside the United States.

China imports billions of dollars worth of electronic equipment, integrated circuits, rubber and durian from the Southeast Asian nation.

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