Wreckage must be located to bring closure to tragic event, says Najib

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak in Beijing, capital of China, May 30, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Friday his country will do its utmost to find the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner and answers related to the plane's disappearance.

He made the remarks a day after Australia said an area where acoustic signals were detected is not the plane's final resting place.

Najib told President Xi Jinping at the start of a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse: "I can assure you that we will do our utmost to find answers to what happened to (flight) MH370. We owe it to the families. We must find the wreckage of the aircraft so that we can bring closure to this unfortunate tragic air event."

He said Malaysia expects to work with China, Australia and other countries because "this is too complex an incident ... and has never happened before in the history of aviation".

No country could handle this alone, he added.

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200 disappeared on March 8 after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. Of the 239 people aboard, 154 were Chinese.

Xi thanked Najib for the efforts made by Malaysia, together with Australia and other countries, in the search for the plane.

Najib also told Xi that a female tourist from Shanghai who was kidnapped in Malaysia in April has been released. The Malaysian government will escort her to China very soon, he said.

Xi said he appreciated the efforts.

Regarding the missing plane, Najib told Xi the past three months "have been a very, very testing time for both countries as well as in terms of our bilateral ties".

"But I believe the relationship of the two countries is strong enough to endure this test, and I believe that we'll see the strategic importance of our bilateral relations is not affected by this incident."

Since 2009, China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $106 billion last year.

Malaysia is China's largest trading partner in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Malaysian newspaper The Star noted the unusual arrangement of Xi hosting a dinner for Najib, saying it signaled ties were recovering. Premier Li Keqiang also hosted a banquet for Najib on Thursday evening.

Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao newspaper quoted scholars as saying on Wednesday that in confronting challenges from the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan, plus the US pivot to Asia, Beijing fully recognizes the weight of its relations with Kuala Lumpur.

Jin Canrong, associate dean at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said Malaysia has influence inside ASEAN and is poised to chair the regional bloc next year.

The Malay Mail Online said on Friday: "Malaysia has remained steadfast in its relations with China through quiet diplomacy and supportive engagement. The two countries seem to have moved beyond (flight) MH370 ... bilateral relations seem to be now back on track."

Contact the writers at lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn and zhaoyanrong@chinadaily.com.cn.