He said even during former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time, Malaysia had tried to strengthen relations with China. He gave three reasons why this was good for the country.

“First, it is because of geography,” he said. “We are neighbours and that will never change. Political actors may change but geography will never change.”

The second reason he gave was that China was the country’s largest trading partner.

In 2015, Malaysia’s trade with China expanded by 11.1 per cent to RM230.89 billion, according to Malaysia’s international trade and industry ministry.

“Good relations with China will benefit us with infrastructure development and trying to develop our economy in other ways. We need the fusion of their money, expertise and technology,” Chandra told FMT.

Thirdly, Chandra said, Najib’s move to strengthen military and security ties with China was important as the country already had military relations with the US and other Western countries.

“This is not important because we expect some kind of war or age of conflict, but because of the balance. We have to continue this balance in relations with both China and the US.”

During Najib’s six-day visit to China, 14 deals were signed on defence, agriculture, education, finance and construction, worth approximately RM143.62 billion.

Opposition leaders criticised these deals saying it opened the doors for China to wield influence on Malaysia.

Najib, however, dismissed the allegation that the government was selling the country to China, adding that his effort to acquire foreign investments was to create better job prospects and more high-paying jobs for Malaysians.