Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad called on visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the latter’s hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.

Speaking to reporters later, Mahathir said they exchanged views on bilateral relations and future cooperation, Asean Plus Three and cooperation between East Asian countries.

“It was just a meeting of friends, because I know him. It seems that he (Wen) values Malaysia’s friendship with China. He looks forward to even bigger trade (between the two countries) in the future,” he said.

NONE Mahathir noted that Kuala Lumpur and Beijing had extremely good bilateral relations.

After the meeting with Mahathir, Wen met with descendants of Malaysian friends who had supported Dr Sun Yat Sen's revolutionary activities.

About 100 years ago in Penang, Dr Sun, known as the Father of Modern China, convened the Penang Conference to plan for the Second Guangzhou Uprising, a key event that eventually led to the 1911 Chinese Revolution.

Wen arrived here yesterday for a two-day official visit to Malaysia.

He is being accompanied by a 118-member delegation, including four ministers.

- Bernama