ThePresident, Mrs McAleese, ended her first visit to south-east Asia yesterday by expressing her wish to return to the Far East and this time go to China.
Mrs McAleese confirmed that she had an outstanding invitation from the Chinese government which she hoped to take up next year.
"There has been an important sequence of high-level visits that build up to a situation where a State visit is possible." she said.
Speaking on the last day of a State visit to Malaysia, the President also indicated that she would like to go to Tibet. Asked if she thought this would be possible if she visited China, she said she did not know.
Mrs McAleese said she had discussed Tibet at length with the Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rhongi, during his visit to Ireland last September.
"Tibet is something I have a particular interest in," she added.
Mrs McAleese yesterday visited the Penang Medical College in Malaysia which has a partnership initiative with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
She told students there that if she had her time over again she would choose medicine as her profession rather than law.
"Doctors are more popular than lawyers. I discovered that too late in life." she said.
In the five years since the agreement was signed more than 1,000 Malaysian doctors have qualified from schools of medicine in Ireland, and most have returned to work in the Malaysian healthcare system.
The Irish-Malaysian partnership is unique, allowing students to do their pre-clinical training in Ireland before returning home to complete their studies.
The students obtain an internationally recognised Irish medical qualification.
The President said the partnership had helped to bridge the gaps of history and geography to bring Ireland and Malaysia together.
Ireland had gained enormously from the many Malaysian medical students who had studied in the country, bringing the story of Malaysia to the people, earning lifelong respect and friendship.
Before she left Malaysia for Ireland, Mrs McAleese addressed a reception for the Irish community in Penang. She told them that Ireland and Penang had much in common in economic terms.
"We are both open, export-oriented economies, specialising in Information and communciation techologies," she said.
During her visit to the region Mrs McAleese, who was accomanied by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey and an Enterprise Ireland trade mission, also paid a three-day official visit to Thailand.