Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday in Putra Jaja held talks with his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on promotion of the bilateral ties and regional cooperation.

During the talks held in Putra Jaya, Malaysia's administrative center located some 30 km west of Kuala Lumpur, the two sides reached a broad consensus on deepening the strategic and cooperative relations between the two countries.

Wen said that China and Malaysia decided last year to develop the strategic and cooperative relations, thus lifting the bilateral ties to a new level and injecting a new vigor into the cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

The two sides have maintained close and high-level exchanges over the past year, with the strengthening of mutually political trust and a headway in economic and trade ties, Wen said.

The two countries have maintained a good coordination and cooperation over the UN reform, East Asia cooperation and other significant international and regional issues, the Chinese premier noted.

Developing the Sino-Malaysian cooperation is the common needs of both countries, and both governments are mapping out the next five-year plan, Wen said.

The Chinese side is willing, together with the Malaysian side, to deepen cooperation by strengthening high-level exchanges to enhance understanding and trust, mapping out a concerned action plan for strategic cooperation, continuously expanding bilateral trade and pushing for energy cooperation, he added.

China is willing to closely cooperate with Malaysia in promoting East Asia cooperation, he noted.

For his part, Badawi said the continuous deepening of bilateral relations between Malaysia and China has brought about interests to both sides.

For Malaysia, China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, he noted, saying that Malaysia regards China as a reliable friend.

Malaysia hopes to develop a much closer relationship with China by expanding trade and increasing mutual investments, and strengthening cooperation of mutual benefits in the fields of energy and finance.

He expressed thanks to China for its contribution to the convocation of a series of East Asia summits, saying Malaysia will more closely coordinate with China in the future.

The prime minister said that after he heard of the incident, in which several Chinese citizens were infringed upon in Malaysia, he instructed immediately to set up an independent committee to look into the incident.

Wen arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to attend the 9th China- ASEAN and ASEAN Plus China, Japan and Republic of Korea Summit and the first East Asia Summit in addition to paying an official visit to Malaysia.

The Chinese premier is expected to leave Kuala Lumpur for home later Thursday.

Source: Xinhua