MALAYSIAN PM HOSTS LUNCHEON FOR CHINESE PRESIDENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
hosted a luncheon for visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao at Shangri-La Hotel
here Wednesday.

Present were Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat
and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing, arrived here Nov 10 for a two-day visit.
They will later take a short drive south of the Malaysian capital to visit
Malacca and are scheduled to depart for Singapore at 4.30pm.

Malaysia-China Trade Council secretary-general David Chua, who
attended the luncheon, said bilateral relations between the two countries were
now at a comfortable and inspiring level in terms of trade and investment.

For example, he said, the signing of a cooperative frame-work for a bank in
China to open in Malaysia as mentioned by Najib during the luncheon was an
important development because it gave more room for services in the financial
field and was beneficial to economic cooperation and bilateral trade.

Chua said the second matter mentioned by Najib was the twin-rail project
from Gemas to Johor Baharu.

Gemas is a small town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, just near the Negeri
Sembilan-Johor state border. The town is located approximately 165 km from the
Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, while Johor Baharu is the capital city of Johor
in southern Malaysia.

"It was agreed in principle that a portion of the project be offered to
contractors from China and this signifies good cooperation between the two
countries for development and economic growth in the south and the whole country
in general, he said.

He said the Chinese president, in his speech, welcomed the cooperation and
and expressed the hope for more in future.

-- BERNAMA