Chinese President Hu Jintao and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak met in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 11 to discuss ways of furthering strategic and cooperative ties between the two countries.

President Hu, who is currently on a state visit to Malaysia, said that strategic cooperation between China and Malaysia serves the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples and contributes to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Hu arrived in the Malaysian capital city on Nov. 10, starting the first official visit by a Chinese head of state for 15 years.

Bilateral relations between China and Malaysia have developed steadily since the two countries first established diplomatic relations 35 years ago.

Malaysia has become China's largest trading partner among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with two-way trade reaching 53.47 billion USD in 2008./.