Chinese and Malaysian foreign ministers agreed Sunday to further boost bilateral ties and regional cooperation.

Friendship and cooperation between China and Malaysia have achieved significant progress in recent years, with leaders of both countries exchanged visits frequently and cooperation in all areas deepened continuously, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi while meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Anifah Aman in Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia.

China will further develop its relations with Malaysia by continuing their high level exchanges, broadening their financial cooperation and deepening cultural exchanges, Yang said.

Yang, who met Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday, told Anifah that China would make the building of joint industrial parks proceed smoothly and push forward cooperation on large joint projects.

Earlier, the two countries have agreed to set up joint industrial parks in Qinzhou, China and Kuantan, Malaysia, respectively.

Meanwhile, China highly values the importance of developing the strategic partnership with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is committed to its bigger role in East Asian cooperation and regional integration, Yang said.

China is willing to participate in pragmatic cooperation under various mechanism in East Asia and work with Malaysia to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Malaysia attaches great significance to its relations with China and sees China as a major partner to drive Malaysian economy, Anifah said.

He told Yang that his country is satisfied with the frequent high level exchanges and achievements in areas such as trade, investment, education, human resources and tourism between the two countries in recent years.

Malaysia is willing to maintain close ties with China and further boost pragmatic cooperation, he said.

Anifah also praised China for its constructive role in international and regional affairs as well as its contribution to promoting its relations with ASEAN and regional development.

Malaysia will further coordinate with China in developing China-ASEAN relations, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2012)