Chinese President Xi Jinping and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met in Kuala Lumpur Friday to discuss bilateral ties and further development of China's relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Xi Jinping and Najib Razak agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

During their talks, the two leaders spoke highly of the achievements made in cooperation between the two countries and had an in-depth exchange of views on advancing China-Malaysia ties in an all-around manner under new circumstances.

"China highly values its relations with Malaysia. The China-Malaysia relationship is taking the lead among China's relations with ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members," said Xi.

They also had an in-depth exchange of views on other major regional and international issues.

After the meeting, the two leaders will witness the signing of several cooperation agreements. They will also jointly meet the press.

China-Malaysia relations have seen sound development in recent years, with positive progress achieved in their practical cooperation in various sectors.

Two-way trade totaled 94.8 billion US dollars last year. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for the last four years, and Malaysia has been China's largest trading partner in ASEAN for five years in a row.

Large-scale joint projects such as the Qinzhou Industrial Park in China and the Kuantan Industrial Park in Malaysia have made progress, setting a precedent for establishing twin industrial parks between China and other countries.

China and Malaysia also enjoy frequent people-to-people exchanges, with annual personnel exchanges topping 2.6 million person-times last year. China is now the largest source of foreign visitors to Malaysia.

Xi arrived here Thursday evening for a state visit to Malaysia, the second leg of his maiden trip to Southeast Asia since taking office in March.

From Malaysia, the Chinese president will travel to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the 21st informal economic leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

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