China’s ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian, said the offer was made in light of strong Malaysia-China bilateral ties.

“I am confident the Malaysian government will maintain its fairness and objectivity. I also hope the Xinjiang issue will become something positive for Muslims in both countries to increase their understanding of each other, rather than a negative issue,” he said in an interview with local media.

He was commenting on a report quoting Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah as saying the government had appointed Istac to study and validate news reports on the Uighur community in Xinjiang.

Bai Tian said the Chinese government wanted more Malaysians to visit Xinjiang to evaluate the situation there.

He said travel agencies in Malaysia had discussed arranging chartered flights from Kuala Lumpur to Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi, should there be enough tourists.

The embassy, he said, would facilitate the issuing of visas “smoothly and quickly” if a travel agency had plans to offer tour packages to Xinjiang.

Bai Tian also said bilateral trade between Malaysia and China reached US$111.5 billion in the first 11 months of last year. During the period, more than three million Chinese tourists visited Malaysia.

He said tourism authorities in both countries were targeting four million Chinese tourists this year.