China Praises Malaysia For its Efforts to Trace the Missing MH370

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak receives a courtesy call from the China's special envoy and Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui at Parliament. Bernama phot

China's Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui today paid a courtesy call on acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here.

Zhang, who is a special envoy of the Chinese government, arrived at about 2 pm and had a four-eyed meeting with Hishammuddin.

It is learnt that Zhang held discussions on the lost Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 which is believed to have gone down in the southern Indian Ocean.

A total of 154 of the 227 passengers on the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft were Chinese nationals.

Zhang was accompanied by China's Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Huang Huikang and several Chinese officials.

On the Malaysian side were MAS Group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman and Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief Gen Tan Sri Rodzali Daud.

Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, left the KL International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea. It was to have landed in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.

A multinational search was mounted for the aircraft, first in the South China Sea and then, after it was learned that the plane had veered off course, along two corridors - the northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and the southern corridor, from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

Following an unprecedented type of analysis of satellite data, United Kingdom company Inmarsat and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded that Flight MH370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak then announced on March 24, seventeen days after the disappearance of Flight MH370, that it "ended in the southern Indian Ocean".

Yesterday, about 200 relatives of several of the Chinese passengers marched to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing to express their disappointment over the news on the fate of Flight MH370.-- BERNAMA

Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (right) receives a courtesy call from China's Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui at PWTC

China today praised Malaysia for its efforts to trace the missing aircraft amid protests from the relatives of passengers on board the crashed plane who accused Malaysian authorities of bungling the probe.

"Malaysia made lot of efforts, since the plane went missing in the search and investigation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told media answering questions whether the incident has marred bilateral relations.

Chinese government and the Malaysian side will make joint efforts to tackle the challenge, he said .

As the relatives of 154 Chinese passengers on board the crashed Malaysia Airlines plane raised protests over the slow pace of the probe which has not reached any conclusive proof yet, China is insisting that it should be made part of it.  

The issue reportedly figured in the talks between Chinese special envoy Zhang Yesui and the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur today.

A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion returns to RAAF base Pearce from a search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean. (Reuters)

After the meeting, Zhang stressed the urgency of continuing to search with full force for MH370.

Search remained the top priority and must carry on unremittingly, Zhang, who is a Chinese vice foreign minister, said.

He was deputed by Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday with a brief that Malaysia should make Chinese specialists part of the investigations.

He said the Malaysian side should strengthen information sharing with China and, in a comprehensive and accurate manner, provide Beijing with the information and evidence that led Malaysia to the conclusion that the ill-fated flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

Relatives of Chinese passengers demand evidence that the plane had crashed in the Indian Ocean.

Najib, on his part, expressed appreciation for China's support and assistance in dealing with the incident, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The Premier said Malaysia would do its best to provide timely and accurate information, and concentrate their efforts on searching in relevant waters of the southern Indian Ocean. He also promised all-out efforts in comforting the family members of those