Tourism could help strengthen the bilateral relations between Malaysia and China, said Loke.

"I hope we can continue to flourish our relationship and to strengthen our Malaysian-China friendship," he said. "We are confident that relationship between both countries will continue to strengthen under the new government, and this will bring the two countries together and more importantly, to bring the people of the two countries together."

Concurring with Loke, Chinese Ambassador Bai Tian mentioned that during the recent visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to China, both countries agreed to designate the year 2020 as Malaysia-China Cultural Tourism Year in a bid to strengthen people-to-people ties.

Some 3 million of Chinese tourists are expected to visit Malaysia this year, attracted by the beautiful scenery, delicious food and wonderful culture, said Bai.