Malaysian officials describe President Xi's visit as key in strengthening ties

Malaysian officials have praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of building a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with shared future, hailing his recent visit as a milestone that has taken bilateral relations to new heights.

Xi, also General Secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, arrived in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday at the invitation of Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, as his second state visit to the country after 12 years.

In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah, president of the Dewan Negara, Malaysia upper house of Parliament stated that President Xi's visit is expected to give a boost to the bilateral relations between the two countries.

"This visit this time, I think, will be very significant to uphold and uplift the relations in various fields, not only in trade, economics, but also in the culture, education. And most important thing is between the people, P2P, or people-to-people relations between the Malaysian and the Chinese citizens," he said.

Teo Nie Ching, Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital of Malaysia, emphasized the importance of building a shared future and prosperity through mutual respect and trust, noting that the aligned visions of leaders of Malaysia and China is expected to create strong opportunities for future collaboration.

"We want to build a common destiny for everyone. We want to build shared prosperity for everyone, and at the same time, despite our differences, we need to have mutual respect to each other. We need to have the trust in mankind. We need to have trust to each other as well. So I think the vision from these top two leaders actually align very much, even though they are from two different corners of the world. So I think this is a great coincidence and I believe that because of that, we will have many, many opportunities to work together closely in the future," she said.

During Xi's visit to Malaysia, Teo Nie Ching also attended the launching ceremony of the Malay-language edition of "The Classic Quotes by Xi Jinping", a multilingual program produced by CMG.

Malaysian officials describe President Xi's visit as key in strengthening ties

China's movie industry is increasingly deriving its earnings from broader consumer economy.

Released during the 2025 summer season, the film "Nobody" became China's highest-grossing two-dimensional animated film -- and its success went beyond theaters.

Through licensing and brand partnerships, the movie has generated 2.5 billion yuan (about 358.3 million U.S. dollars) in retail sales to consumers, with more than 800 licensed products on the market.

Ranging from plush toys to food and home goods, the movie-related merchandise can be purchased from over 3,000 online and offline outlets.

Meanwhile, souvenir stores are crowded at Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia themed land, with hats, plush toys, and collectibles seeing steady demand from visitors.

"China's film industry is no longer defined by box office revenue alone. It has become a new growth engine that links and energizes multiple cultural sectors. At the heart of every successful film is strong storytelling. High-quality productions create cultural value, which in turn enhances the commercial value of intellectual property and opens up new consumption opportunities. I believe China's film industry delivered an outstanding performance in the past year," said Chen Xiaoda, vice dean of Shanghai Vancouver Film School.

Film IP fuels expansion of consumer market