Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – China’s President Xi Jinping has arrived in Malaysia as part of a Southeast Asian tour which is seen as delivering a personal message that Beijing is a more reliable trading partner than the United States amid a bruising trade war with Washington.
Xi arrived in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday evening in what is his first visit to Malaysia since 2013. He flew in from Vietnam where he had signed dozens of trade cooperation agreements in Hanoi on everything from artificial intelligence to rail development.
On touching down, Xi said that deepening “high-level strategic cooperation” was good for the common interests of both China and Malaysia, and good for peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world”, according to the official Malaysian news agency Bernama.
Xi’s three-country tour and his “message” that Beijing is Southeast Asia’s better friend than the truculent administration of US President Donald Trump comes as many countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc are unhappy with their treatment after the US imposed huge tariffs on countries around the world.
“This is a very significant visit. You can read many things into it,” said Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, a former Malaysian ambassador to the US and minister of legal affairs.
“China is telling us they are a reliable trading partner, more than the US. We never had problems dealing with them,” Abdul Aziz told media.
“Under PM Anwar, Malaysia is getting very much closer [to China]. It’s a good thing,” he added, noting that “in the long run”, Washington’s “influence will be reduced”.
With China, however, trade relations and diplomatic ties are getting stronger and both countries are benefitting, the former ambassador said.
“We are very focused on China. That’s our mentality,” he said.
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