Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says the country is seeking to further enhance its ties with China and tap into new areas of cooperation. Razak made the statement in an interview with CCTV before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kuala Lumpur for his state visit.

Reaffirming close ties.Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak believes Chinese President Xi Jinping¡¯s visit will add fresh impetus to cooperation between the two nations.

"I think if we look back since Malaysia became the first Southeast country to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1974. The achievements have been astounding. The relationship between two countries have been developing very well. Today China is the largest trade partner to Malaysia. We are move out bilateral relations to a new phase. Because it is not only a deep economic relationship that we have, but it also a more multi-faceted, liking education, security and tourism." said Najib Razak.

There¡¯s been remarkable progress on Malaysia¡¯s economic partnership with China since Razak became Prime Minister in 2009.

This year, bilateral trade is expected to reach 100 billion US dollars.

And Razak says the two sides can look forward to expanding cooperation even further.

Razak¡¯s father, Abdul Razak Hussein, was also Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Back in 1974, he headed a delegation to China, signing the agreement that made Malaysia the first Southeast Asian country to establish diplomatic ties.

Najib Razak says that persistent efforts made by succeeding generations have pushed the relationship forward.

And he¡¯s sent his son to China, to learn Mandarin.

China has been Malaysia¡¯s largest trading partner for four consecutive years. While Malaysia remains China¡¯s largest trading partner among the ten nation ASEAN bloc.