Nov 10, 2009, 8:56 GMT
Kuala Lumpur - Chinese President Hu Jintao was accorded a grand state welcome Tuesday upon his arrival in Malaysia for a two-day visit.
Hu, who arrived with his wife and a 180-member delegation, was given a red-carpet welcome at Parliament, where he inspected an honour guard.
He was scheduled to hold an audience with Malaysian King Mizan Zainal Abidin and attend a royal banquet at the palace.
Hu, the first Chinese leader to visit Malaysia in 15 years, was also due to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak later Tuesday, but the two would only hold bilateral talks on Wednesday.
China has become Malaysia's biggest trading partner this year, surpassing Singapore, the United States and Japan, the official Bernama news agency reported.
From January to September, bilateral trade reached 89 billion ringgit (25.5 billion dollars), accounting for nearly 13 per cent of Malaysia's total trade during that period.
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