Visiting Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao flew Thursday to Penang for a two-day break before heading to Singapore. Hu is scheduled to visit places of interests on the mainly Chinese-populated island including a butterfly farm and the home of Sun Yat Sen, who is regarded as the father of modern China.

Penang chief minister Koh Tsu Koon is to host a dinner in Hu's honour on Thursday.

China's presumed leader-in-waiting will leave for Singapore early Friday before flying to the United States on Saturday, in what will be his most significant appearance on the international stage to date.

Hu, who is widely tipped to succeed President Jiang Zemin in a communist leadership revamp beginning this autumn, is expected to meet top US officials including President George W Bush during his week-long stay.

Hu described talks on Wednesday with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as "cordial and very productive", Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters late Wednesday.

Malaysia has become China's top trading partner in Southeast Asia with trade rising 17 percent to US$9.4 billion last year. Both countries agreed to expand bilateral cooperation, she said.

Shipping and flight matters

Zhang said both Hu and Abdullah discussed plans to increase flight frequency and shipping between the two countries.

"We believe that now there have been over 600,000 Chinese students studying in Malaysia and last year there have been more than 700,000 tourists going back and forth," she added.

Abdullah has described his Chinese counterpart as a "very calm, steady and knowledgeable" person.

"All the issues are at his fingertips," he said on Wednesday.

In a public address Wednesday, Hu allayed Asia's fears of China's growing economic might and vowed Beijing would oppose the "bullying" of weak nations by superpowers.

He said China's entry into the World Trade Organisation would open up trade opportunities worth at least 1.5 trillion dollars in the next five years and urged Asia not to view China as a competitor.

Hu pledged China's commitment to help Asian economies by not devaluing its currency despite a slowdown in its export growth.

The two countries signed a pact to establish a China-Malaysia joint business council to boost trade ties.