Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 21, 2015. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has announced a Chinese government pledge of around 15-million US dollars to continue the search for missing Malaysia Airlines fliight MH370.

Li Keqiang has made the pledge while meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Kuala Lumpur.

China, in the spirit of maximum respect for people, hopes Malaysia and Australia could continue to maintain effective communication with China over the search of the jetliner, the Chinese premier said.

Families of the victims have been concerned the search for the missing airliner in the southern Indian Ocean may be called off, as questions have been raised about who will finance the continued search for the missing flight.

MH370 disappeared on March 8th of last year while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard, two-thirds of whom are Chinese.

Physical evidence discovered earlier this year on Reunion Island off the east coast of Africa is supporting earlier suggestions the missing flight went down somewhere off the west coast of Australia.