Malaysian PM meets Chinese FM on bilateral relations

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Friday, with both sides pledging to advance bilateral ties and cooperation.

The meeting was held during Wang's visit to Malaysia for the ASEAN Plus foreign ministers' meetings. Noting that China is a trustworthy friend and partner of Malaysia, Anwar said that fostering friendly relations with China is a shared consensus between the Malaysian government and the people of Malaysia. He added that cooperation across various fields between the two countries has benefited both peoples.

At a time when multilateral mechanisms such as BRICS are gaining strength and countries are striving for independence and development, China plays a leading role, and Malaysia deeply appreciates China's contributions, Anwar said.

For his part, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that under the guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral relations have entered their best period in history.

China is a sincere friend of Malaysia and is ready to work with Malaysia to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders and to advance the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future, Wang said.

Wang also expressed China's full support for Malaysia's ASEAN chairmanship in 2025 and its greater role in regional and international affairs, adding that China looks forward to making new progress in China-ASEAN cooperation.

Wang said that as developing countries, emerging economies, and key representatives of the Global South, China and Malaysia should join hands to address challenges and pursue common development and revitalization.

The U.S. unilateral imposition of high tariffs is an irresponsible move that runs counter to global cooperation and shared interests, Wang said, adding that China always stands together with the developing countries, remain committed to high-level opening-up, and share the benefits of its enormous market to expand win-win cooperation.

During his visit, Wang also held talks with Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.