Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on China and Malaysia to strength the alignment of their development strategies and advance their bilateral relationship through high-level strategic cooperation.
The remarks were made in a signed article titled "May the Ship of China-Malaysia Friendship Sail Toward an Even Brighter Future" by Xi, published on Tuesday by several major Malaysian media outlets, including Sin Chew Daily, The Star, and Sinar Harian. The article coincided with the start of President Xi's state visit to Malaysia.
In the piece, Xi described China and Malaysia as "friendly neighbors across the sea" and emphasized the need to inject fresh momentum into their longstanding friendship.
Xi said that China and Malaysia must enhance strategic communication, increase mutual political trust, follow through on the Belt and Road cooperation plan between the two governments.
He noted that in 2024, bilateral trade between the two countries reached 212 billion U.S. dollars - nearly a thousand-fold increase since their establishment of diplomatic relations in 1974. He underscored that China has remained Malaysia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years.
Xi also highlighted Malaysia's role as the ASEAN Chair for 2025, saying China is committed to working 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's article and statement are definitely very precious to us. He has emphasized a lot in terms of mutual trust and shared prosperity for future growth. That is something that we Malaysians deeply agree with and believe in it," said Chan Seng Fatt, CEO of Star Media Group, in an interview with China Global Television Network on Monday at the printing house.
Malaysia is the second leg of Xi's current five-day three-nation Southeast Asia tour, which began with a two-day state visit to Vietnam, and will also take him to Cambodia for a state visit.
Xi calls for advancing China-Malaysia relations through deeper cooperation
From cutting-edge technology exhibitions to retail stores thousands of kilometers away from Europe and Southeast Asia, China-made robot vacuum cleaners are increasingly becoming a popular choice among consumers worldwide.
At electronics retailers in Berlin, Germany, Chinese brands such as Roborock and Dreame occupy prominent positions in dedicated robot vacuum sections, offering a wide range of products priced between 200 and 2,000 euros.
Many local consumers said that when purchasing smart home appliances including robot vacuum cleaners, they tend to give priority to Chinese-made products.
"It's a good price and good quality. It's also the innovation. I have a feeling that the European brands are not innovating enough," said one customer.
"I think they're always on top of the other technologies. They are getting them out faster. A lot of us are switching to the Chinese technology," another consumer said.
Germany is one of the most important overseas markets for China's floor-cleaning robots.
According to data from market research firm GfK, from January to November 2025, more than six out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold in Western Europe were Chinese brands.
Industry data also point to a strong global momentum.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of smart robot vacuum cleaners reached 17.424 million units in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent.
Chinese brands including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal ranked among the world's top five in terms of shipment volume, with a combined share of nearly 70 percent of the global market.
At a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, workers were seen stepping up production of newly launched models that recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in the United States, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The factory adjusted its production lines as early as December 2025 and stocked inventory in advance for overseas markets to ensure that new products could be delivered to global consumers at the earliest possible time.
"In 2025, Roborock's global shipments exceeded 7.2 million units. Since 2024, overseas revenue has accounted for more than 50 percent of our total revenue. Our products have now been sold to more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 20 million households worldwide," said Quan Gang, president of Roborock.
At another robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, rising overseas orders have prompted the company to upgrade its production lines with intelligent technologies to further boost capacity. The factory is currently operating at full load to meet a growing demand.
"For 2026, we have already obtained overseas orders worth at least 300 million to 400 million yuan (around 43 million to 57.3 million U.S. dollars). In addition, we've engaged in strategic cooperation with European home appliance group Cebos Group, and our total confirmed orders have exceeded 600 million yuan (around 86 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Junbin, founder and CEO of Narwal Robotics.
Chinese robot vacuum brands gain strong global traction
