Mr Li had said that the proposal would realise plans for a proposed Pan-Asia Railway running from Kunming in China to Singapore.
“This will better promote the construction of new international land and sea trade corridors, enhance regional connectivity, and deepen the building of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) community,” Mr Li said at the time.
Sultan Ibrahim has spoken of plans to revive a stalled high-speed rail project between Malaysia and Singapore, with a border crossing in Forest City, a beleaguered US$100 billion China-backed development in Johor.
While in China, the monarch is also expected to attend the naming ceremony of the chair of Malay studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University in his honour. The king will also engage with the Malaysian diaspora during his visit, Wisma Putra said.
Sultan Ibrahim had said in August last year during an interview with local daily Sin Chew that it was crucial for Malaysia to maintain friendly relations with China, describing it as a “good and reliable” investment partner.
China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009. Total bilateral trade last year was valued at US$98.9 billion, accounting for 17.1 per cent of Malaysia’s total global trade. Meanwhile, Malaysia is China’s second-largest trading partner in ASEAN, behind Vietnam.
Ties between Beijing and Putrajaya have been warming since Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took office in Nov 2022.
Mr Anwar made his first visit to China as PM in late-March 2023 – attending the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, meeting Mr Xi and other Chinese leaders and securing a raft of investment commitments. His visit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership.
He followed up with another trip in September that year, participating in the 20th ASEAN-China Expo in Nanning. Mr Anwar said then that Malaysia and China had agreed to increase cooperation on projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the East Coast Rail Link project.
Both countries also agreed to deepen links in areas including vocational education and training, science and technology and tourism, Bernama reported.
Source: CNA
