On October 21, 2011, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Surin Pitsuwan respectively on the sidelines of the 8th China-ASEAN Expo and the 8th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning.

During his meeting with Najib, Wen said recent years have witnessed deepening traditional friendship and continuous progress in strategic cooperation between the two countries. Malaysia has become China's largest trading partner in ASEAN. "In face of a complicated international and regional situation, it will be beneficial for both countries, as well as China-ASEAN ties and East Asian cooperation, to strengthen China-Malaysia cooperation," Wen said. He called on the two countries to continue to expand cooperation in trade, economy, investment, finance, science and technology and to maintain close communication and coordination on major issues in order to promote the development of bilateral ties.

Najib said currently bilateral relations have been developing very well with mutual trust and mutual support which safeguards common interests. Malaysia attaches high importance to its relationship with China and will work to deepen bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas and carry forward the traditional friendship. Malaysia will also work closely with China to promote the sound and stable development of ASEAN-China relations and East Asian cooperation.

The two prime ministers also attended an inauguration ceremony for a China-Malaysia industrial park that will be established in the coastal city of Qinzhou in Guangxi.

During his meeting with Surin, Wen said China and ASEAN have witnessed increasing cooperation and achieved fruitful results since they established dialogues 20 years ago. China will use its strategic partnership with ASEAN as a cornerstone for the development of its foreign policies regarding neighboring countries and steadily support ASEAN's integration, Wen said. China also supports ASEAN to play a leading role in East Asian cooperation. He pledged that China will work closely with ASEAN to promote bilateral relations to a new stage.

Surin said ASEAN and China have maintained sound relations and the 20 years of friendly cooperation between both sides have brought tangible benefits to both sides. Cooperation between China and ASEAN (10+1) and cooperation among ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (10+3) have yielded abundant results, he said. The 10+1 and 10+3 mechanisms should continue to be the basis of East Asian cooperation, he said. Surin also said he appreciates China's support and called on China to further increase investment in ASEAN member countries. ASEAN will join hands with China to comprehensively promote reciprocal cooperation in all areas, strengthen coordination and cooperation on major regional issues and bring ASEAN-China ties and East Asian cooperation to a new high, Surin said.