PETALING JAYA: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has praised former minister Tun Michael Chen for his role in forging ties between Malaysia and China.
"Glad to see Tun Michael Chen, one of the Malaysians who worked towards building bilateral ties with China.
"We both attended the 2023 Chinese New Year reception organised by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malaysia tonight (Monday, Jan 16)," he said in a Facebook post after the event.
In the post, Dr Wee is seen in one of the uploaded photographs having a chat with Chen, and with Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir in another.
"On May 31, 1974, Tun Michael Chen accompanied the then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein to meet with former Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and witnessed the official signing ceremony of Malaysia-Chinese bilateral relations," Dr Wee said.
Chen served as special functions minister at the time.
He said Chen, now 91, was present when the historic document was signed between the leaders of the two nations, making Malaysia the first South-East Asian country to cement diplomatic ties with China.
"The two countries have since experienced strong bilateral ties that have allowed us to work closely together in different fields," he added.
