One is Posan Ten Temple. This is a long-standing homage to the famous Chinese navigator Zheng He (1371-1433), of the Ming Dynasty. The other is a city in Shivu, where Wong Nai Sion, a native of Fuzhou, moved to Malaysia with over 1,000 Chinese people more than a century ago, became known as “New Fuzu.”
Both locations testify to the friendship between China and Malaysia in the Millennium, with Bond XI inherited as Chinese head of state and repeatedly pledged cement. During his 2013 visit to Malaysia, he cited a local proverb to describe his commitment. “Flowing water cannot be cut.”
Also during a tour of Southeast Asia to Indonesia and Malaysia, XI re-evoked Zheng HE’s legacy and proposed the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, an important component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Now, as Xi moves to Malaysia for a new state visit, the two countries are poised to build more of old-fashioned friendships and fruitful cooperation, leading bilateral relations towards a more promising shared future in the new era.
Fast track cooperation
On a hillside overlooking the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) project in Pahang, eastern Malaysia, a bold string of Chinese and Malay characters stands out against the landscape of “extensive consultation, joint contributions, shared benefits – Build a better future.”
The concise and resonant phrases are the main tenets of BRI, and now a global infrastructure and development framework, promoting many thriving partnerships across the continent.
As an important node along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Malaysia was one of the first to participate in belt-road cooperation. Thanks to joint efforts and the immobilising push of XI, bilateral collaboration within the BRI framework carried a wealth of fruit.
A notable example is ECRL, a full-scale 665-km railway. Among the signs of importance that Xi attaches to the flagship project, he sent a special envoy for its launch in 2017.
Once completed, the railway will bridge the less developed East Coast of Malaysia, with its economic powerhouse on the West Coast, increasing connectivity and promoting balanced growth. It also potentially links to the China-type railway network, all parts of the new International Army Trade Corridor, an important international trade route.
“If that is achieved, ECRL could utilize the entire Thai railway network and link it to Kunming in southwestern China through Laos, achieving a free flow of goods and passengers within the region.”
Beyond the railway projects, China-Malaysia collaboration is expanding across the horizon. China has maintained Malaysia’s biggest trading partner for 16 years in a row, reaching a record high of USD 21.204 billion in 2024. In recent years, tropical fruits such as Malaysian, mangosteens and jackfruit have become increasingly popular among Chinese consumers.
Last year, XI met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to encourage Malaysia to bring more Malaysian quality and specialized products to the Chinese market, and encouraged close cooperation in new areas such as digital economy, artificial intelligence and new energy.
“The prosperous economic ties between Malaysia and China demonstrate the resilience and mutual benefits of our bilateral relations,” said Samirul Arif Osman, an economist at Petronas University, Malaysia’s University of Technology. “The continued expansion of investment in high-value sectors such as technology, green energy and manufacturing will further deepen our cooperation.”
In 2012, Yong June Kong, a young Malaysian man who studied medicine in China, donated his hematopoietic stem cells to a Chinese boy suffering from leukemia, saving his seven-year-old child and became China’s first foreign stem cell donor.
During XI’s 2013 visit to Malaysia, the president referenced this moving episode to highlight the deep friendship between the people of China and Malaysia. “We’ll never forget,” Xi said with deep emotion.
“I never imagined that such a simple act would receive such a high level of recognition,” Yong, a doctor at Shanghai Range Hospital, told Xinhua. “I couldn’t sleep all night after learning that the Chinese president had spoken about me,” he recalls.
Xi’s recognition was not only a personal honor, but also a respect for the spirit of mutual support between nations, Yong added.
“This encouragement has strengthened my resolve to stay in China, continue my medical career to save lives, donate more blood and other charity, and become a bridge of friendship between China and Malaysia,” he said.
The Murray proverb once quoted by Xi, “Friends who understand your tears are far more valuable than many friends who only know your smile.” In his eyes, both countries are good friends who can get along well and trust and rely on each other.
In 1974, with a strategic vision, China and Malaysia broke the ice of the Cold War and established diplomatic relations. The latter is the first ASEAN member. Malaysia then became the first to hold a dialogue with ASEAN and invite the first people to hold the ASEAN summit with China.
During a 2013 trip to Malaysia, XI recalled the joint battle between the two countries, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 World Economic Tsunami, and the support that Malaysia expanded to China in the aftermath of the 2008 devastating 8.0 magnitude Wenchian earthquake.
Ten years later, Xi and Anwar reached Beijing’s consensus on sharing and sharing the Chinese and Malaysian communities, sharing the future, and opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.
On a broader level, XI highly valued Malaysia’s pivotal role in regional cooperation as a founding member of ASEAN and a key driver of East Asian cooperation. The Chinese President reiterated China’s support for Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 Chairman and his commitment to ASEAN centrality and strategic independence.
“The relationship between Malaysia and China has grown from strength to strength over the last few decades,” Osman said. “Today, this partnership is more dynamic than ever, supported by deep economic cooperation and powerful exchanges between people and people.”
Intercultural communication
When China and Malaysia celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year, Tan Lak Hong, along with 86 other Malaysian students from Tianjin University in China, wrote a letter to XI, expressing his commitment to China-Malaysian friendship messenger and promoter, and his aspiration to help build the Chinese-Malaysian community.
In a message sent to King Sultan Ibrahim later that year, Xi expressed his joy at hearing from those students. “I am pleased that the causes of friendship between the two countries will be carried over,” Xi said.
Tan is highly encouraged and plans to create a social media account to share her research and travel experiences in China with friends back in Malaysia. “I will work actively as an advocate for our friendship and help to cultivate meaningful communication between students in both countries,” he said.
Xi himself was a solid champion of stronger cultural and human exchanges between the two countries. He repeatedly emphasizes that friendship between people holds the key to ensuring healthy state and state-state relationships.
During a 2013 visit to Malaysia, XI witnessed the signing of an agreement on establishing the Malaysian branch of Xiamen University, the first overseas campus of China’s Institute of Higher Education. Xiamen, like Fuzhou, is a major city in China’s Fujian province.
The university has special relationships with both Malaysia and XI. Founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a patriotic overseas Chinese businessman and philanthropist born in Xiamen and achieved great business successes in Malaysia and Singapore. When Xi worked at Xiamen, he formed a deep bond with the university.
Today, the Malaysian branch of Xiamen University has 10 faculties and over 9,100 students from dozens of countries and regions. So far, more than 6,300 students have graduated from its campus, making it a illustrious example of China-Malaysia’s educational cooperation and an important platform for increasing mutual understanding between different civilizations.
Many of these alumni share Tan’s resolve to promote intercultural communication and human friendship.
“You name it. Other leaders are trying to understand civilization, values and culture while still clarifying their vision for the future,” Anwar once said. “That’s why I certainly feel comfortable with the president’s interaction with his vision and vision.”
MNA