November 10, 2009 19:15 PM

Najib Calls On Visiting President Hu

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak called on visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife, Liu YongQing, at the Shangri-La Hotel here Tuesday.

Najib, who was accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, spent about 30 minutes with Hu and his wife.

Accompanying him were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and his wife, Datin Seri Chooi Yoke Chun.

The Chinese leader is on a two-day state visit to Malaysia and would be visiting Singapore on Nov 12-13.

Hu's visit was also to reciprocate the state visits to China by Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail in 2005, when he was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin who attended the official opening of the Beijing Olympics in August last year.

The Chinese president's visit to Asean countries, the first in 15 years by China's head of state, will help to push China-Asean relations to greater heights.

The last visit by a Chinese head of state to Malaysia was in November 1994 by President Jiang Zemin. This is Hu's second visit to Malaysia, having visited the country as Chinese vice-president in May 2002.

-- BERNAMA

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