Kuala Lampur, April 11 -- The following interview was provided by China Global Television Network (CGTN) and is published here in full.

BEIJING, April 11 - In 1976, while serving at Malaysia's Embassy in Vietnam, Datuk Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan embarked on a 50-hour train journey from Hanoi to Beijing to visit a colleague. Little did he know that this first encounter with China would plant the seeds for a lifelong connection.

A few years later, he returned to Beijing, this time as a diplomat at the Malaysian Embassy. He arrived as China launched its historic reform and opening-up, which set the country on a path of unprecedented growth and modernisation.

Then as Malaysia's Ambassador to China (1998-2005), Datuk Majid had a front-row seat ...