China's Xi hosts Malaysian king for bilateral talks in Beijing

ANKARA

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday hosted a welcoming ceremony in honor of the Malaysia King Sultan Ibrahim in Beijing.

The Malaysia king, who arrived on a four-day state visit to China on Thursday, met with President Xi in the capital.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed bilateral issues and ways to further strengthen relations between China and Malaysia.

Xi told Ibrahim that China and Malaysia share a "friendship that spans over a thousand years. Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1974, China and Malaysia have always enjoyed good friendship and helped each other in times of need, setting a good example of mutual progress and win-win cooperation between countries," according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying's statement on X.

"President Xi Jinping said he will work with Sultan Ibrahim for new progress in building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future to bring more benefits to the two peoples," she added.

This is King Ibrahim's first foreign visit since he was crowned in July. The king is elected by the Conference of Rulers, which is made up of the Malay states' nine rulers, and the office is de facto rotated among them every five years.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties between China and Malaysia, with trade between the two countries estimated to be $190.24 billion in 2023.

King Ibrahim's visit came after the Philippine Daily Inquirer published a document late last month claiming that the Chinese Foreign Ministry had asked Malaysia to immediately stop explorations in an oil-rich area off Sarawak waters.

Later, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that his country will continue drilling within its territory despite Beijing's demand to halt oil exploration.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid