The government has declared 2004 the Malaysia-China Friendship Year to mark three decades of diplomatic ties with celebrations throughout the year, said Deputy Tourism Minister Fu Ah Kiow.

On January 10, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will kick off a colorful celebration of cultural performances and a fireworks display in the southern historical state of Malacca, where China's Deputy Culture Minister Meng Xiaosi is scheduled to attend, Fu told reporters.

The two countries will sign agreements on cultural exchange activities, he said.

Malaysia has set up tourism offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong to conduct promotional programs this year, and plans to set up more outlets in western China because the emerging economic giant is currently its fastest-growing market, he said.

Tourists from China are also among the top spenders here, dishing out an average 400 ringgit (105 dollars) per person daily, he said.

"We are working very hard to promote Malaysia in order to capture the China market. China is the fourth largest market for tourists to Malaysia after Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia," Fu said.

A total of 570,000 China tourists visited Malaysia in 2002, up 24 per cent from 460,000 in 2001.

But arrivals from China fell sharply by 40 per cent from January to November last year due to the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak in the region, he said.

Despite the reemergence of a SARS case in China, Fu said he believed travel confidence has improved with tourist arrivals from China recovering to jump 15 per cent year-on-year in November to 45,100.

Fu said total tourist arrivals this year was expected to surge to 13 million, up from just over 10 million in 2003 when the industry was battered by the double whammy of the Iraq war and the Sars outbreak.

"We are confident of regaining back to the pre-Sars level but we will have to work very hard on it. To touch 13 million in 2004 I think is a very realistic target," he said.

A tourism ministry official told AFP a renewed Sars outbreak would not affect tourist arrivals from China. "As far as we are concerned, we are prepared. All screening procedures are in place to prevent a recurrence of Sars," he said.