Malaysia is looking to form strategic partnerships with Chinese business leaders in areas ranging from natural resources to intellectual property development. It also welcomes Chinese companies to use it as gateway to the broader Southeast Asian market, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday in Shanghai.

　　"China's rapid economic growth has resulted in rising demand for energy resources, particularly oil and gas," said Abdullah at a business luncheon in Shanghai yesterday.

　　"Given Malaysia's wealth of natural resources, we can offer significant value to China as a strategic partner," he said.

　　Petroliam nasional Berhad, the national petroleum company of Malaysia, is looking forward to setting up more joint ventures with Chinese companies and seeking business opportunities in gas and other natural resource products, said Mohd Hassan Marican, president and chief executive officer of Petronas.

　　Abdullah said he hopes companies from both countries will focus on cooperation in producing leading-edge knowledge and intellectual property.

　　"We should explore intellectual property development, hardware and software development, high-end electronics, communications and biotechnology, even in the media and broadcasting area producing Asian news, programs and movies," said the prime minister.

　　Malaysia announced that it recognized China's full-market economy status on Saturday.