KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday the country's foreign policy should be about building partnerships that benefit the country and the people, highlighting bilateral relationship between China and Malaysia as the one that "have borne tangible results."

Najib, who came to power in 2009, made the remarks while speaking at the launch of the Biennial Conference of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) in Kuala Lumpur.

"Since 2009, for instance, trade between Malaysia and China has been growing at over 10 percent a year, and our many joint ventures -- both those that are already underway and those we have planned -- will play a huge part in Malaysia's continued development," said Najib.

It is estimated that more than 1,000 delegates from Commonwealth member countries have taken part in the conference, which will last till Saturday.

CAPAM was established in 1994 to facilitate the sharing of information and best practices between public administrations of Commonwealth countries, in addition to promoting good governance in the government.

In 2014, Malaysia was entrusted to head CAPAM.