KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 18 -- In the first 10 months of 2008, the bilateral trade volume between Malaysia and China reached 45.7 billion U.S. dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 22.8 percent, said Liu Jian, ambassador of China to Malaysia.

The trade volume between China and Malaysia rose from 8 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 to 46.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, Liu said at the 5th China Import & Export Commodities Exhibition (CIEM), which opened in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

"Bilateral trade between Malaysia and China for the last 10 years has been very encouraging registering an average growth rate of 27 percent," Malaysian deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Liew Vui Keong said.

"With 203 enterprises from nine countries and regions, this session offered 320 standard stands, as well as an exhibition area of 7,000 square meters," said Wang Junwen, Director General of China Foreign Trade Center, the organizer of CIEM.

Among those exhibitors, 110 are from China and 93 are from Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Taiwan.

The products exhibited in this session targeted Southeast Asia market, which mainly include machinery and electronics, household products and decorations, and food and beverage.