Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday for a state visit at the invitation of Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
He was warmly welcomed by Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and other senior Malaysian officials at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
A Malaysian child presented flower bouquets to Xi, while local youngsters performed folk drum and dance routines, waving the national flags of China and Malaysia to welcome Xi.
In a written statement published as he arrived at the airport, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Malaysia.
He noted that in 2023, the two countries reached an important consensus on jointly building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future. Last year, the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
Xi said he expected to use his visit as an opportunity to further deepen the bilateral traditional friendship and strengthen political mutual trust.
He called on the two sides to promote cooperation in modernization endeavors, jointly enhance exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, continuously elevate the building of a China-Malaysia community with a shared future to new heights, and usher in a new "Golden 50 Years" of bilateral relations.
As Xi's motorcade drove from the airport to the hotel, overseas Chinese in Malaysia waved the national flags of both countries and held up red banners with slogans celebrating the long-lasting friendship between the two countries.
A festive and enthusiastic lion dance performance was also staged to welcome Xi.
This visit is Xi's second trip to Malaysia in 12 years.
Malaysia is the second leg of Xi's current five-day, three-nation Southeast Asia tour. He wrapped up a two-day state visit to Vietnam on Tuesday and will travel to Cambodia after his visit to Malaysia.
Xi arrives in Kuala Lumpur for state visit to Malaysia
Xi arrives in Kuala Lumpur for state visit to Malaysia
Xi arrives in Kuala Lumpur for state visit to Malaysia
The series of erroneous words and actions by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not only seriously deviate from the spirit of pacifist Constitution of the country but also further exacerbate regional tensions, said Tomoko Tamura, a member of the House of Representatives.
In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Tamura criticized Takaichi for straining Japan-China relations by making erroneous remarks on Taiwan, calling on her to improve bilateral relations.
Tamura pointed out that the political consensus reached during the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries remains of great significance, and Japan should respect and abide by it as the basis for repairing and rebuilding friendly relations with China.
"The erroneous remarks by Sanae Takaichi this time have led to the deterioration of China-Japan relations. This is absolutely unacceptable and must be retracted. Regarding the relations between two sides, the consensus reached during the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972 is of utmost importance. At that time, the Chinese government asserted that Taiwan is part of China and the Japanese government fully understood and respected this stance. Now we should reaffirm this consensus, as well as the crucial agreements reached by both countries after 1972. Japan should explicitly acknowledge these significant agreements to rebuild friendly relations with China," she said.
Tamura also pointed out that in recent years, Japan has attempted to reshape its security policy, boosting defense spending, easing arms-export restrictions, pursuing offensive weapons development, and clearly deviating from the fundamental principle of "exclusively defense-oriented" policy.
"Japan's possession of long-range missiles clearly exceeded the scope of 'exclusively defense-oriented' policies. Japan is accelerating its military expansion. From the perspective of the Japanese constitution, this is absolutely not allowed. We are deeply concerned about the current Takaichi administration's disregard for the Japanese constitution. We clearly demand that Japan should adhere to the position of resolving issues through diplomatic efforts," she said.
Japanese official criticizes Takaichi's erroneous remarks
