Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Malaysia was the first ASEAN country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Former Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar reflects on the China-Malaysia relationship and praises Beijing for always standing shoulder to shoulder with Malaysia. "China never gives up on ASEAN – especially in the case of Malaysia. When we were under the 1997–1998 crisis, China was there."