Chinese ambassador Bai Tian pays poetic tribute in conjunction with 46th 'birthday' of Malaysia-China ties

In a posting on his Facebook titled "Together There's No Mountain too High to Conquer, Nor a Trench too Deep to Surpass", he opened with the Malay proverb "Bukit Sama Didaki, Lurah Sama Dituruni" (rough translation: We are in it together) and highlighted the pressing need for this due the COVID-19 pandemic that is gripping the world.

"Bosom friends make distance disappear. Forty-six years ago on this exact day, Malaysia was among the first ASEAN countries to establish diplomatic relations with China, prefacing the overture to a long-lasting friendship.

"In the past 46 years, through all the ups and downs, China-Malaysia relations have remained robust and stable, and eventually become the abiding friendship that compasses all areas and bears fruitful cooperation," he said.

He added that he looked forward to China and Malaysia working together to surmount the economic gloom in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, forging ahead with flagship projects such as East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and "Two Countries, Twin Parks" initiative to optimise trade structure and to expand the scale of trade while enhancing infrastructure development and connectivity towards transforming Malaysia into the logistics hub of Southeast Asia.

China, he said, is inclined to increase investment in Malaysia to spearhead its digital economy and emerging industries in supporting Malaysia to become a prime industrial nation,among others.

"There is a Chinese saying that goes, 'only the toughest grass can withstand the strongest wind', as only a true friend can withstand the test of time," he added.