PM Najib Receives Courtesy Call From China's Vice Premier

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), July 30 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday received a courtesy call from China's Vice Premier Liu Yandong, here, as Malaysia and China look forward to strengthen relations. The two leaders discussed various issues at Najib's office, including bilateral trade, economic and regional cooperation in defence and tourism. Also present were the Prime Minister's special envoy to China, Ong Ka Ting, and China's ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Huang Huikang. Liu is in Malaysia to attend the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Kuala Lumpur as Beijing bids to host the 2022 Winter Games. Met after the meeting, Ong said that Najib during the meeting, expressed hope that Chinese tourists would come to Malaysia in bigger numbers as the Malaysian government had taken steps to encourage them to visit this country after the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 incident. Najib, according to Ong, reiterated that the Malaysian government would make unreserved effort to implement the dual industrial park project - Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park in Malaysia's east coast state Pahang and China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in Guangxi, southern China. He said Najib would hold a bilateral meeting and discussion with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during the latter's official visit to Malaysia in November in conjunction with the ASEAN Summit to further strengten Malaysia-China relations. Ong said China had also expressed interest in taking part in major projects in Malaysia, including the Malaysia-Singapore High Speed Rail and other economic investments. --BERNAMA