BEIJING: China has reiterated its strong support for Malaysia’s bid to become a full BRICS member, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the backing was reaffirmed during his bilateral meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang here on Thursday (Oct 15).
Ahmad Zahid said China’s support was important as Malaysia sought backing from existing member countries to secure full membership in the economic bloc.
"Although President Xi Jinping has expressed his support, today’s discussions reiterated that China strongly supports Malaysia’s admission as a full member of BRICS," he told Malaysian media after the meeting.
Xi has expressed his full support for accelerating Malaysia’s accession as a full member of BRICS.
Ahmad Zahid said the meeting with Ding covered several areas of bilateral cooperation, including technology transfer, knowledge-sharing and financing for projects with significant economic benefits to Malaysia.
BRICS, established in 2009, currently comprises 11 countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Egypt. Malaysia became a partner country of the bloc early last year.
Malaysia-China trade rose 35.1% to RM456.68bil in the January-August period this year compared to the corresponding period last year.
