President's Asian tour, attendance at APEC meeting a complete success: FM

BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visits to Malaysia and Singapore and his attendance at the 17th Economic Leaders Meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on Nov. 10-15 was fruitful and achieved great success, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Sunday.

Yang, who was accompanying the Chinese president during the tour, told Chinese reporters that Hu's visit was made against the backdrop of a steady global economy that is improving for the better and of the profoundly changing regional situation.

It was an important diplomatic move aimed at deepening good-neighborly relations, promoting cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and joining efforts with the countries in the region to tackle crises and meet challenges.

During the six days, President Hu attended more than 30 multilateral or bilateral events, including meetings with leaders of Malaysia and Singapore, having extensive contacts with people from various walks of life and delivering important speeches at the APEC meeting.

Local and international media gave prominent, objective and positive coverage to Hu's visits. The Chinese president became a focus of world attention again, particularly at the APEC meetings.

Throughout the Chinese president's Asian tour, there was always a warm and friendly atmosphere and the visit is a complete success, the foreign minister said.

PROMOTION OF CHINA-MALAYSIA STRATEGIC COOPERATION TO A NEW LEVEL

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia. In recent years, the two countries have witnessed a momentum of sound development of bilateral ties, marked by frequent exchanges of high-level visits and close people-to-people exchanges and fruitful cooperation in various fields. In view of the international financial crisis, China and Malaysia expressed their readiness to deepen cooperation as bilateral relations face new opportunities for development.

During his stay in Malaysia, President Hu met with Malaysian Supreme Head of State Mizan Zainal Abidin and had an in-depth exchange of views with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation. Both sides pledged efforts to advance their strategic cooperative ties to a higher level.