China and Malaysia pledge to deepen trade ties

Apr 28, 2011, 6:24 GMT

Kuala Lumpur - China and Malaysia agreed Thursday to expand trade and economic relations, as leaders hailed a deepening of bilateral ties.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak witnessed the signing of eight agreements covering cooperation in areas such as education, culture and technology.

Wen arrived Wednesday with an 118-member delegation of senior government and corporate officials.

Wen said deepening trade ties between the two nations would stimulate growth in the region, and pledged to continue being a major buyer of Malaysian palm oil and other products.

Najib had earlier hailed Wen as a visionary leader. 'We have every confidence that given his (Wen's) strong leadership, China will continue to grow and provide a strong impetus for global economic growth,' Najib said.

It was Wen's second trip to mainly Muslim Malaysia, China's biggest trading partner in South-East Asia with total two-way trade amounting to 45.66 billion dollars last year.

Wen is to address a business forum in Kuala Lumpur before departing for Indonesia.

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