To their surprise, the letter was mentioned by Xi in his congratulatory message exchanged with Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in May on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

　　In the message, Xi said he was pleased to see that the cause of friendship between the two countries has inheritors.

　　By 2023, Tianjin University had a total of nearly 600 Malaysian students, and more than 100 Malaysian students are enrolled annually, making it one of the Chinese universities with the largest enrollment of Malaysian students.

　　Cheok said that the friendly relationship and close educational exchanges between the two countries have provided opportunities for students like her to study in China to pursue better self-development, which will then allow her to help promote bilateral exchanges.

　　During her stay in China, Cheok has had rich experiences not only in cultural exploration but also in academic innovation.

　　Last year, she joined an entrepreneurial project to promote functional pet food additives — focusing on improving pet immunity and health — in the Southeast Asian market, including in Malaysia.

　　“Malaysia has a tropical climate and a limited selection of functional pet foods,“ she said. “We hope to leverage China's mature industrial chain and resources to bring our products to this 'blue ocean' market.“

　　The project, representing Tianjin University, won a silver prize at a national entrepreneurship competition.

　　Social media is another window into China for Cheok, whose great-grandfather lived there before migrating to Malaysia.

　　“I learned about Chinese universities and tech trends through Douyin before I came here,“ she said, adding that she found that more Malaysians are now active on Chinese platforms like Xiaohongshu, or RedNote.