Immediately ahead of his recent state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, special articles by Chinese President Xi Jinping were published in the major media of the three countries.
Ahead of his visit to Malaysia, Xi reviewed China’s age-old friendship with Malaysia, as well as in more recent times:
“Over 1,300 years ago, Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing of the Tang Dynasty traveled to the Malay Peninsula on his pilgrimage voyage and produced the earliest known written account of the ancient kingdom of Kedah. More than 600 years ago, Chinese navigator and explorer Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty and his fleet called at Malacca during five of his seven historic expeditions. His visits planted seeds of peace and friendship… Some 80 years ago, when the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression reached a critical juncture, the Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics from Malaysia braved immense dangers to reach China’s Yunnan Province, and helped keep the Burma Road operational, as it was a vital lifeline of China’s wartime supplies. Today this remarkable story of courage still echoes in the hearts of both peoples… Fifty-one years ago, breaking through the gloom of the Cold War, leaders of China and Malaysia made the decision to establish diplomatic relations, pioneering a groundbreaking new chapter in relations between China and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries. China and Malaysia have since respected each other’s development paths while maintaining strategic independence. We have provided mutual support on issues vital to our respective core interests and on our major concerns, setting an exemplary model for two countries to prosper together through mutually beneficial cooperation.”
Highlighting various areas of such bilateral cooperation, Xi went on to note that China and Malaysia have mutually granted visa exemption to each other’s nationals. The year 2024 saw nearly six million mutual visits between the two countries, which exceeded the pre-COVID level. “Malaysia, truly Asia,” the tourism promotional ad that highlights the unique charm of Malaysia’s culture, history and landscape, has inspired numerous Chinese tourists to visit Malaysia for leisure vacations or sightseeing. More and more Malaysian tourists are traveling to China to appreciate its historical legacy and experience its contemporary vibe. I hope our peoples will visit each other as often as family.
China and Malaysia, Xi continued, are both major developing countries in the Asia-Pacific. We are also emerging market economies and members of the Global South. China welcomes Malaysia as a BRICS partner country. Its inclusion in the organisation aligns with the historic trend of the Global South’s pursuit of solidarity-driven collective advancement and serves the common interests of developing countries. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. As we honour these milestones, our two countries must strengthen mutual cooperation in international and regional affairs, and champion the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit. We must uphold the UN-centred international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and promote fairer and more equitable global governance. We must uphold the multilateral trading system, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and maintain an international environment of openness and cooperation. As a community with a shared future, China and Malaysia share the smooth times and the rough, stand united in peace and crisis, and thrive and endure together.
He added: “China fully supports Malaysia in its role as the ASEAN chair for 2025 and looks forward to Malaysia serving as a stronger bridge between the two sides as the country coordinator for China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations. Through its modernisation, China is striving to build itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. Chinese modernisation follows a path of peaceful development. China will promote global peace, development and shared prosperity with other countries through mutually beneficial cooperation. The Chinese economy is built on a solid foundation, with multiple strengths, high resilience and vast potential for growth. The core conditions supporting its long-term positive growth remain firmly in place, with the underlying upward trend unchanged. China has set its target for economic growth at around five percent for 2025. We will continue to pursue high-quality development, expand high-standard opening up, share development opportunities with other countries, and bring greater stability and certainty to the regional and global economy. Unity brings strength, and cooperation leads to mutual success. China will work with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, as well as the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism, in keeping with the historical trend of peace and development.”
President Xi arrived in Cambodia on April 17, the new year holiday of the peoples of Cambodia and Laos. He wrote:
“I am very happy to visit Cambodia on the occasion of the Khmer New Year. For me, it feels like going to the home of a good friend. I wish to extend my warmest New Year greetings to our brothers and sisters in Cambodia… Our community with a shared future is defined by our mutual commitment to friendship and righteousness. The friendship was forged by His Majesty Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk and Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, among the elder generations of Chinese leaders. Seventy years ago, His Majesty Samdech Preah Sihanouk and Premier Zhou met at the Bandung Conference and immediately bonded like old friends. Defying all odds, Cambodia established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1958. China stood steadfastly with Cambodia in its just struggle against foreign invasion and for national sovereignty and independence. Together, the two countries have shared the rough times and the smooth and consistently supported each other in times of need. His Majesty Samdech Preah Sihanouk lived in China for nearly 40 years, embracing China as his home away from home. He had written and composed many songs in tribute to the China-Cambodia friendship, such as Nostalgia of China. His songs are still widely sung today… In 2020, I presented Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk with the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China. This deeply meaningful medal embodies the profound friendship of the Chinese people toward the people of Cambodia.”
Turning to areas of practical cooperation, Xi wrote that, “Our community with a shared future is powered by equality and mutual benefit. For many years, China has been Cambodia’s largest trading partner and largest source of investment, and our industrial and supply chain cooperation has continued to deepen. Thanks to the China-Cambodia free trade agreement, premium agricultural products from Cambodia, including banana, mango and longan, are finding their way into Chinese households. The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, developed through China-Cambodia cooperation, has drawn more than 200 international companies to establish operations, laying a solid groundwork for Cambodia’s industrial modernisation.”
Concluding, Xi wrote: “As a Chinese verse goes, ‘True friendship, like refined gold, withstands all tests of time.’ I firmly believe that with our joint efforts, the China-Cambodia ironclad friendship, which has been tempered through trials of time and storms of adversity, will stay true to its original purpose. China will work with Cambodia to safeguard peace, pursue development and achieve shared prosperity, to make solid progress in building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era, and to bring greater stability and certainty to this turbulent world.”
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency. President Xi’s article for the Vietnamese newspaper Nhân Dân was previously republished by us here.
Full text of Xi’s signed article in Malaysian media
KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday published a signed article titled “May the Ship of China-Malaysia Friendship Sail Toward an Even Brighter Future” in Malaysian media outlets including Sin Chew Daily, The Star and Sinar Harian ahead of his arrival in Malaysia for a state visit.
The following is the full text of the article:
At the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, I will soon pay a state visit to Malaysia. This will be my second visit to your beautiful country in 12 years. I look forward to experiencing Malaysia’s remarkable progress and transformation in person, and meeting with Malaysian friends to celebrate our friendship and plan for future cooperation.
China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors across the sea. The Maritime Silk Road stood witness to the millenium-old friendly exchanges between our countries. As a Malay proverb puts it, “air dicincang tidak akan putus,” or “water can’t be cut apart.” Through the ages, such strong bonds of friendship between our peoples have grown from strength to strength. Over 1,300 years ago, Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing of the Tang Dynasty traveled to the Malay Peninsula on his pilgrimage voyage and produced the earliest known written account of the ancient kingdom of Kedah. More than 600 years ago, Chinese navigator and explorer Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty and his fleet called at Malacca during five of his seven historic expeditions. His visits planted seeds of peace and friendship. To this day, the Sam Po Kong Temple, Bukit Cina, and Princess Hang Li Poh’s Well endure as a living testament to the local community’s everlasting veneration of the legendary Chinese navigator. Some 80 years ago, when the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression reached a critical juncture, the Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics from Malaysia braved immense dangers to reach China’s Yunnan Province, and helped keep the Burma Road operational, as it was a vital lifeline of China’s wartime supplies. Today this remarkable story of courage still echoes in the hearts of both peoples. As we honor our shared past and embrace the future, our two countries must work together to give fresh momentum to our ship of friendship that has sailed through the long river of history, and ensure that it forges ahead steadily toward brighter horizons.
We must keep a firm grip on the strategic helm that guides our ship of friendship. Fifty-one years ago, breaking through the gloom of the Cold War, leaders of China and Malaysia made the decision to establish diplomatic relations, pioneering a groundbreaking new chapter in relations between China and ASEAN countries. China and Malaysia have since respected each other’s development paths while maintaining strategic independence. We have provided mutual support on issues vital to our respective core interests and on our major concerns, setting an exemplary model for two countries to prosper together through mutually beneficial cooperation. In 2023, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and I agreed on building the China-Malaysia community with a shared future. The decision marked a new milestone in the bilateral relations. China and Malaysia must enhance strategic communication, increase mutual political trust, follow through on the Belt and Road cooperation plan between the two governments, strengthen the synergy between our development strategies, expand experience sharing on national governance, and promote our bilateral relations through high-standard strategic cooperation.
We must expand results-oriented cooperation which serves as the ballast that steadies our ship of friendship. In 2024, China-Malaysia trade reached 212 billion U.S. dollars, up by nearly 1,000 times the level at the inception of our diplomatic relations. China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. Malaysian durians can now be delivered directly from orchards to Chinese supermarkets within 24 hours, and they are immensely popular among Chinese consumers. To date, the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park has received a total investment of over 11 billion yuan (1.5 billion dollars), and will create many long-term jobs when all its planned projects are completed with production reaching their designed capacity. Our bilateral cooperation potential is being progressively realized in the digital economy, green development, industrial investment and transport infrastructure construction. We must deepen mutually beneficial collaboration, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and strengthen cooperation on industrial and supply chains, with a focus on the digital economy, green economy, blue economy and tourism economy, so as to advance modernization of both countries.
We must fuel the engines of people-to-people exchanges to propel our ship of friendship forward. China and Malaysia have mutually granted visa exemption to each other’s nationals. The year 2024 saw nearly 6 million mutual visits between the two countries, which exceeded the pre-COVID level. “Malaysia, truly Asia,” the tourism promotional ad that highlights the unique charm of Malaysia’s culture, history and landscape, has inspired numerous Chinese tourists to visit Malaysia for leisure vacations or sightseeing. More and more Malaysian tourists are traveling to China to appreciate its historical legacy and experience its contemporary vibe. I hope our peoples will visit each other as often as family. Our two countries must promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges so as to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples, especially the younger generation.
We must harness the momentum of collaboration at the multilateral level. China and Malaysia are both major developing countries in the Asia-Pacific. We are also emerging market economies and members of the Global South. We have similar positions on safeguarding international fairness and justice and on advancing open and inclusive development. We have maintained close collaboration within multilateral mechanisms, including East Asia cooperation, APEC and the UN. China welcomes Malaysia as a BRICS partner country. Its inclusion in the organization aligns with the historic trend of the Global South’s pursuit of solidarity-driven collective advancement and serves the common interests of developing countries. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. As we honor these milestones, our two countries must strengthen mutual cooperation in international and regional affairs, and champion the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit. We must uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and promote fairer and more equitable global governance. We must uphold the multilateral trading system, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and maintain an international environment of openness and cooperation.
As a community with a shared future, China and Malaysia share the smooth times and the rough, stand united in peace and crisis, and thrive and endure together. “Share weal and woe,” a popular proverb in both countries, defines the very essence of such a relationship. We must stay ahead of the times, surge forward with unyielding resolve, and jointly build a brighter future of development, growth and prosperity.
Having weathered storms of the times, the friendly relations and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries have emerged stronger and more resilient. China was the first ASEAN dialogue partner to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and the first to establish a free trade area and a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN. China-ASEAN cooperation is the most results-oriented and productive in the region. China and ASEAN pulled together in solidarity in response to multiple challenges, such as the Asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing headwinds against economic globalization. Our bilateral cooperation is more robust than ever. In 2024, China-ASEAN trade exceeded 980 billion dollars, making us each other’s largest trading partner for five consecutive years. The Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area upgrade negotiations have substantially concluded. More and more premium specialty products from ASEAN countries are now finding their way into millions of Chinese families, while Chinese literary works, animations, films and TV productions are increasingly captivating audiences in ASEAN countries with the rich tapestry of Chinese culture and the warm pulse of contemporary life in China.
China firmly supports ASEAN unity and community-building, and supports ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture. China fully supports Malaysia in its role as the ASEAN chair for 2025 and looks forward to Malaysia serving as a stronger bridge between the two sides as the country coordinator for China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations. Through its modernization, China is striving to build itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects, and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. Chinese modernization follows a path of peaceful development. China will promote global peace, development and shared prosperity with other countries through mutually beneficial cooperation. The Chinese economy is built on a solid foundation, with multiple strengths, high resilience and vast potential for growth. The core conditions supporting its long-term positive growth remain firmly in place, with the underlying upward trend unchanged. China has set its target for economic growth at around five percent for 2025. We will continue to pursue high-quality development, expand high-standard opening up, share development opportunities with other countries, and bring greater stability and certainty to the regional and global economy.
Unity brings strength, and cooperation leads to mutual success. China will work with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, as well as the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism, in keeping with the historical trend of peace and development. We must brave the waves ahead and advance the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future, and jointly build a stronger China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Full text of Xi’s signed article in Cambodian media
PHNOM PENH, April 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday published a signed article titled “Together We Strive, Together We Thrive: Toward a Stable and Sustainable China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era” in Cambodian media outlets Khmer Times, Jian Hua Daily and Fresh News ahead of his arrival in Cambodia for a state visit.
The following is the full text of the article:
I am very happy to visit Cambodia on the occasion of the Khmer New Year. For me, it feels like going to the home of a good friend. I wish to extend my warmest New Year greetings to our brothers and sisters in Cambodia. This is my second visit to your country in nine years. I sincerely hope this visit will spearhead progress in building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future.
Our community with a shared future is deeply rooted in the historic legacy of good-neighborly relations. Thanks to our geographical proximity, our friendly exchange spans two millennia of our shared history. During China’s Tang Dynasty, members of Chenla’s royal family visited China’s then capital city of Chang’an, where they were warmly received as Binhan, meaning “guest of honor.” In the following centuries, the ties between the two nations grew ever stronger and closer. Chinese ceramics and lacquerware were shipped to Cambodia via the Maritime Silk Road, while Cambodian spices, raw silk and other specialty products were highly popular among Chinese people, as evidenced by the Bayon Temple bas-reliefs, which capture the vibrant trade that flourished between the two countries in history. Many renowned Cambodian monks travelled to China to spread Buddhist teachings and scriptures. The Customs of Cambodia, a book written by Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan of the Yuan Dynasty, is an important literature for studies of Cambodian history. The great Chinese and Khmer civilizations have flourished together, inspiring each other through centuries.
Our community with a shared future is defined by our mutual commitment to friendship and righteousness. The friendship was forged by His Majesty Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk and Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, among the elder generations of Chinese leaders. Seventy years ago, His Majesty Samdech Preah Sihanouk and Premier Zhou met at the Bandung Conference and immediately bonded like old friends. Defying all odds, Cambodia established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1958. China stood steadfastly with Cambodia in its just struggle against foreign invasion and for national sovereignty and independence. Together, the two countries have shared the rough times and the smooth and consistently supported each other in times of need. His Majesty Samdech Preah Sihanouk lived in China for nearly 40 years, embracing China as his home away from home. He had written and composed many songs in tribute to the China-Cambodia friendship, such as Nostalgia of China. His songs are still widely sung today. His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk visit China almost every year. We have met many times, sharing warm conversations about our families and life. In 2020, I presented Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk with the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China. This deeply meaningful medal embodies the profound friendship of the Chinese people toward the people of Cambodia. Upon the outbreak of COVID-19, the pandemic of the century, the then Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen braved the snow and wind to visit Beijing. China dispatched medical teams to provide emergency assistance to Cambodia. The two countries provided each other with a large amount of medical supplies. In the face of complex regional and international developments, we support each other in safeguarding our respective core interests, and work together to uphold international fairness and justice. Our two nations have forged an ironclad friendship.
Our community with a shared future is powered by equality and mutual benefit. For many years, China has been Cambodia’s largest trading partner and largest source of investment, and our industrial and supply chain cooperation has continued to deepen. Thanks to the China-Cambodia free trade agreement, premium agricultural products from Cambodia, including banana, mango and longan, are finding their way into Chinese households. The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, developed through China-Cambodia cooperation, has drawn more than 200 international companies to establish operations, laying a solid groundwork for Cambodia’s industrial modernization. China-supported infrastructure projects, such as Cambodia’s first expressway, first viaduct across a river valley, largest power plant and largest stadium, have brought the Cambodian people tangible benefits and strongly bolstered the long-term development of the country. Chinese experts have helped formulate Cambodia’s modern agricultural development plans on the basis of their extensive field trips in the country. The China-Cambodia Diamond Hexagon cooperation has boosted Cambodia’s development.
Our community with a shared future is founded upon inclusiveness and mutual learning. Over the past 30 years, China has sent many experts across diverse fields — including archaeology, geological exploration, cultural heritage, history, architecture and the arts — who have dedicated themselves to the restoration of Chau Say Tevoda Temple, Ta Keo Temple and the ancient Royal Palace of Angkor. They have helped bring renewed splendor to the Angkor legacy, a gem of human civilizations. More and more Chinese tourists are travelling to Cambodia to experience its rich history and culture while more and more Cambodian friends are learning Chinese to better appreciate the charm of the time-honored Chinese civilization and understand Chinese modernization. Over the years, with Chinese assistance, a number of friendship roads have been built and clean water-pumping wells drilled to improve the well-being of local people. The project of the China-Cambodia Friendship Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Village is completed. Thanks to the treatment by traditional Chinese medicine teams, a hearing-impaired girl articulated “Mama” for the first time, and a wheelchair user got back on his feet.
For nearly half a century, Asia has enjoyed overall peace and stability and rapid economic growth, creating the Asian miracle in the history of global development. As changes unseen in a century accelerate, Asia now stands at a new starting point of collective rise. Consistently following the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of developing friendship and partnership with neighboring countries, China will deepen friendship and cooperation with them, extend the benefits of Chinese modernization to them, and work with them to jointly uphold regional peace and stability and to advance modernization in Asia.
As important members of the big Asian family, China and Cambodia must ride the tide of history and heed our people’s aspirations. We must strive together and thrive together. We must act as pioneers and pacesetters in translating the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative from vision into reality. We must work together to promote the steady and sustained progress in building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.
— Let us bring our mutual political trust to a higher level. We should maintain frequent high-level exchanges and draw up a strategic blueprint for the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era. China firmly supports Cambodia in independently choosing a development path that suits its own conditions, in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in playing a greater role on the international stage. To jointly safeguard our political security, we should strengthen communication on matters of strategic importance such as foreign policy and national defense, and resolutely oppose any attempts by external forces to interfere in our internal affairs, sow discord or undermine China-Cambodia friendship.
— Let us expand our mutually beneficial cooperation of higher quality. We must prioritize development and keep people at the center. To advance modernization in both countries, we should maximize the role of the China-Cambodia Intergovernmental Coordination Committee, forge greater synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Pentagonal Strategy, and advance the development of the Industrial and Technological Corridor and the Fish and Rice Corridor. We should also jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system, advance industrial and supply chain cooperation, enhance cooperation in advanced manufacturing, green development, digital economy and other areas, and make the Diamond Hexagon cooperation shine better and stronger.
— Let us work together to ensure greater security. To foster a secure environment for our respective development, we should strengthen exchange and cooperation in combating external interference and separatist activities. We must guard against and resist “color revolutions,” strengthen joint exercises and training, emergency management and security cooperation on major Belt and Road projects, and crack down on telecom and cyber fraud and other criminal activities. We must stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, build consensus on security concepts and approaches, and jointly promote peace and tranquility in the region and the world at large.
— Let us have more frequent people-to-people exchanges. We should uphold solidarity and harmony, have more cultural dialogues, increase experience sharing on state governance, expand diverse forms of cooperation in areas of culture, tourism, youth exchange and protection and restoration of cultural heritages, and promote people-to-people connectivity. We must champion the Asian values and humanity’s common values.
— Let us strengthen strategic coordination of higher standards. We should draw wisdom from the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, move faster to build a community with a shared future of peace and prosperity among Lancang-Mekong countries, and work together toward a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful, amicable and harmonious Asian home. Together we must stand against hegemonism, power politics and camp-based confrontation, and defend the shared interests of our two countries and other developing countries. We should advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, endeavor to safeguard world peace and stability and international fairness and justice, jointly oppose protectionism, and defend an international environment of openness and cooperation.
As a Chinese verse goes, “True friendship, like refined gold, withstands all tests of time.” I firmly believe that with our joint efforts, the China-Cambodia ironclad friendship, which has been tempered through trials of time and storms of adversity, will stay true to its original purpose. China will work with Cambodia to safeguard peace, pursue development and achieve shared prosperity, to make solid progress in building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era, and to bring greater stability and certainty to this turbulent world.
