Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 19, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday that China and Malaysia should strengthen the docking of development strategies, better leverage complementary advantages, expand two-way trade and investment, and vigorously promote cooperation in emerging areas.

Li made the remarks when meeting with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.

Li first conveyed cordial greetings from President Xi Jinping to King Sultan Ibrahim, saying his ongoing visit to Malaysia aims to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and to promote the further development of China-Malaysia relations and cooperation.

China, Li said, is ready to work with Malaysia to deepen mutual political trust, maintain close high-level exchanges, and take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity and the building of a China-Malaysia community with a shared future as a guide to continuously upgrade bilateral cooperation and better benefit the two peoples.

China and Malaysia firmly support each other in safeguarding interests concerning sovereignty, security and development, and in sticking to the path suited to each other's national conditions, he noted.

The Chinese side encourages more competitive Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia, he said.

He also urged the two sides to further strengthen exchanges and mutual learning in education, youth and other fields, encourage the two peoples to exchange more visits, and consolidate public support for the China-Malaysia friendship.

King Sultan Ibrahim asked the Chinese premier to convey sincere greetings to President Xi.

He said Malaysia attaches great importance to relations with China, and is ready to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, education and tourism, and lift bilateral ties to a new level.

Chinese companies are welcome to invest and do business in Malaysia, he added.