Malaysia King Sultan Ibrahim on Wednesday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks after his arrival on a three-day state visit to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Xi was given a state welcome upon his arrival at the Istana Negara, the official residence of the king, according to Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Ministers Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Fadillah Yusof and others Cabinet members were also present at the ceremony.
Later, Sultan Ibrahim met with Xi and the Chinese delegation.
This is Xi’s second visit to Malaysia in 12 years, while his first visit to Malaysia since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took office in 2022. The two met in Beijing last November.
The last visit in 2013 saw the two countries upgrading diplomatic relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
He arrived in Malaysia from Vietnam, where he signed dozens of trade cooperation agreements with Hanoi.
The visit came after US President Donald Trump earlier this month announced tariffs on more than 180 countries, including 145% on China and 24% on Malaysia, which is Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy.
However, last week, Trump paused the tariffs on all countries for 90 days, except China.
Xi will also hold meeting with Anwar later this evening to discuss bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues of common interest, according to the Foreign Ministry.
China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009.