On the evening of April 23, 2002, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Badawi hosted a welcoming banquet for Vice President Hu Jintao and his wife.

Before the banquet, Badawi met with Hu on a ceremonial occasion. Badawi spoke highly of Malaysia-China friendly relations and cooperation and expressed the belief that the visit will surely strengthen and expand the existing friendly relations and cooperation between Malaysia and China.

Hu said that this is his first visit to Malaysia. We deeply admire the achievements made by the Malaysian people in their economic and social development. He hopes that the visit will further consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, promote mutually beneficial cooperation and push for constant development of China-Malaysia all-dimentional good-neighborly and friendly cooperation.