Both Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to strengthen trade and investment relations with China during bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the 21st ASEAN summit, an official said here on Sunday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang told media at the end of the first day of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had " fruitful" discussions with his counterparts from Malaysia and Indonesia.

"During the meetings, Premier Wen noted that the main challenge for ASEAN economies was to face the global financial crisis and insisted that the countries need to work together to facilitate growth in the region," Qin said.

He added that China, as the single largest trade partner of ASEAN, would work harder to improve trade relations with the members.

In response, Malaysia said it would encourage more investment from China.

Both countries had also welcomed working on strategic interests with China. "Fast tracking the implementation of trade agreements and mechanism to increase economic engagement was also prominently featured in the bilateral discussions," he said.

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