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china news service, september 21st: truly asia - this is how malaysians describe their country. some people translate it as "the charm of asia."

from september 19 to 22, malaysian king ibrahim paid a state visit to china. this visit was also his first visit to a country outside asean after taking office.

turning to the pages of history, why did the traditional friendship between china and malaysia last so long? standing at a new starting point, how will the two countries start the next "golden 50 years" in the future?

diversity is undoubtedly one of malaysia’s important business cards. here, malay culture collides and merges with multi-ethnic cultures, injecting new vitality into the local area.

data shows that as of 2023, the population of malaysia is about 33.7 million, of which 70.1% are malays, 22.6% are chinese, 6.6% are indians, and 0.7% are other races. due to the long-term coexistence of multiple ethnic groups, a rich and colorful cultural feature has gradually formed.

as a typical southeast asian country, malaysia’s other bright business card is its rich tourism resources.

sabah state with many beautiful islands, the old town of george town listed as a world cultural heritage by unesco, malacca city which was once an important hub for commodity trading and cultural exchange between the east and the west... various historical sites and scenic spots are spread throughout malaysia, attracting the favor of tourists from all over the world.

in june 2024, china and malaysia extended their visa-free policies to each other, which injected more impetus into the development of malaysia's tourism industry and further promoted mutual exchanges and understanding between the peoples of china and malaysia.

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and malaysia and the "china-malaysia friendship year". for 50 years, china and malaysia have always been good neighbors, good friends and good partners with friendly exchanges and sincere treatment.

"it is extraordinary that we have such strong resonance and friendship. the friendship between malaysia and china has stood the test of time." nurul izzah, deputy chairman of the malaysian people's justice party, said this in a recent interview with the media.

nurul izzah also pointed out that during malaysian prime minister anwar's visit to china in 2023, the two sides reached a consensus on jointly building a malaysia-china community with a shared future. this is a milestone event in the history of bilateral relations and has opened a new chapter in malaysia-china relations.

china-malaysia economic and trade cooperation has always been the "ballast stone" and "propellant" of bilateral relations. in particular, since the belt and road initiative was proposed, the two countries have achieved fruitful results in areas such as infrastructure construction, while cooperation in the digital economy and new energy has also become increasingly close.

in the southern part of kedah, malaysia, there stands a photovoltaic power station covering an area of ​​more than 100 hectares. siamila, who is in charge of administrative affairs at the power station, said that the photovoltaic panels and transformers used in the power station are all chinese products, and chinese experts also went to provide guidance during the construction of the power station.

in order to better operate and maintain the power station, local employees also went to china for training. "in china, we learned how to operate the photovoltaic power station management system and visited the photovoltaic power plant. after returning, i am more comfortable and confident in my work."

over the years, china and malaysia have not only maintained close ties in the economic field, but also strengthened exchanges in the cultural field. overseas chinese have become an important force in promoting cultural exchanges between the two sides.

currently, chinese people account for about a quarter of malaysia's total population, with a relatively high proportion in the capital kuala lumpur, sibu in sarawak, johor bahru in johor, penang island in penang and other places.

the chinese new year is one of the busiest times in malaysia. in 2024, the year of the dragon, the kuala lumpur tian hou temple lit up a dragon-themed lantern installation; on jonker street in malacca, a dragon dance team composed of young people from malaysia and china waved a nearly 200-meter-long "dragon" to welcome the arrival of the chinese new year.

as malaysian prime minister anwar said, "malaysia-china relations not only have a glorious past, but also a promising future." he also said that malaysia is willing to work with china to deepen cooperation in multiple fields, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and jointly create a new era of malaysia-china relations.

copywriter: sweet

design: wang luyao

planning: meng xiangjun gu liping

proofreading: meng xiangjun and he luman

text source: ministry of foreign affairs of the people's republic of china, cctv news, people's daily, china news network, etc.