Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, arrived in Penang, Malaysia on Saturday, beginning a four-day official goodwill visit.  

Malaysia is the last leg of Wu's four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, which has also taken him to Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

China and Malaysia are close and friendly neighbors, and the friendship between the two peoples dates back to ancient times, Wu said in an arrival statement.

"In recent years, our all-dimensional friendly relations and cooperation featuring good-neighborliness and mutual trust have developed smoothly," Wu said. "We enjoy frequent exchanges of high-level visits, increasingly active exchanges at different levels and fruitful cooperation in various areas."

He said China and Malaysia maintain good cooperation and coordination in both international and regional affairs, including productive cooperation in promoting the development of relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Development of friendly relations and cooperation between China and Malaysia serves the common interests of the two peoples and is conducive to stability and prosperity in the region, he said.

During his stay in Malaysia, Wu will have in-depth exchanges of views with Malaysian leaders on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

"I hope my visit will further enhance the traditional friendship between the Chinese people and Malaysian people, deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation between us and move the all-dimensional good-neighborly friendly relations and cooperation between China and Malaysia toward greater development," Wu said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2005)