: MALAYSIA-CHINA RELATIONS: A REVIEW

Abstract

The last time China stepped out into the international seene as a world power was some 600 years ago. In the 15th century, China was probably the most powerful country in the world and for the first time ever, it sent out huge naval expeditions to show off its might. Of the great fleets sent out the most famous were those under the command of Admiral Zheng He. Zheng He commanded seven expeditions. Just at about this period a new port-polity was emerging in the Straits of Malacca. This was the Malacca Sultanate and it featured importantly in Ming China's overseas policy. One place Zheng He visited in his first expedition was the new sultanate of Malacca. In 1403 Ying Li had commanded a fleet that visited Melaka. Some historians argue that China and Melaka developed common strategic and economic interests. Consolidation of the China-Melaka link came in 1405 when the Ming Emperor assigned and engraved inscription to Melaka for the "mountain protecting the country". This could be Bukit China. Zheng He and others traveled to Melaka again in 1408 and in 1411 the ruler of Melaka himself went to China on the returning ships of Zheng He's third expedition.