King of Malaysia to visit China

BEIJING -- At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar will pay a state visit to China from Sept 19 to 22, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced Wednesday.

China and Malaysia have a long-standing traditional friendship and are good neighbors and partners in mutual assistance and win-win cooperation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at Wednesday's press briefing.

Lin noted that in March last year, President Xi reached an important consensus with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, which has provided direction for the development of China-Malaysia relations in the new era.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia and the Year of China-Malaysia Friendship, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang's successful official visit to Malaysia in June injected new impetus into the development of China-Malaysia relations, he added.

Lin said the visit by King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar is his first visit to a non-ASEAN country since assuming office as the head of state. President Xi will hold a welcome ceremony and a banquet for him. The two heads of state will hold talks and Premier Li will meet with King Sultan Ibrahim.

Lin said China is willing to work with Malaysia to take this visit as an opportunity to continue the traditional friendship, deepen strategic alignment, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, further enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Malaysia, and achieve new results in building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future.