Xi begins Malaysia visit in shadow of Trump tariffs

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for a highly anticipated state visit that comes as Beijing fights an escalating trade war with the United States.

Xi embarked this week on a Southeast Asia tour that has already taken him to Vietnam and will also include Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff regime.

The Chinese leader touched down at the airport in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, where he was greeted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, footage from Chinese state broadcaster CGTN showed.

Xi said he was “looking forward to... further deepening the traditional friendship” between China and Malaysia, CCTV, another Chinese state broadcaster, reported.

He said he would “have an in-depth exchange of views” in meetings with Anwar and king Sultan Ibrahim, according to CCTV.

“With the joint efforts of both sides, this visit will surely achieve fruitful results,” the broadcaster reported him as saying.

Xi is scheduled to attend a state banquet at the Malaysian monarch’s palace on Wednesday morning before holding talks with Anwar in the administrative capital Putrajaya.

He and Anwar will witness the signing of a range of bilateral agreements, according to the Malaysian foreign ministry.

“China will work with Malaysia... to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, as well as the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism,” Xi wrote in an article for Malaysia’s The Star newspaper on Tuesday.

“We must uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order... and promote fairer and more equitable global governance,” he wrote.

China and Malaysia celebrated their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year and enjoy robust trade ties, though Malaysia has partial claims to parts of the South China Sea, where Beijing has staked out near-blanket sovereignty.

Xi urged Vietnam to join forces in upholding free trade, before wrapping up a visit to Hanoi on Tuesday which President Donald Trump said was aiming to “screw” the United States.

Xi visited Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour that include Malaysia and Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to Trump as leaders confront US tariffs.

The Chinese leader called on his country and Vietnam on Monday to “oppose unilateral bullying and uphold the stability of the global free trade system”, according to Beijing’s state media.

Hours later, Trump told reporters at the White House that their talks were aimed at hurting the United States.

“I don’t blame China. I don’t blame Vietnam. I don’t. I see they’re meeting today, and that’s wonderful,” he said.

“That’s a lovely meeting... like trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America.”

China and Vietnam signed 45 cooperation agreements on Monday, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols and railway development.

Xi said at a meeting with Vietnam’s top leader To Lam on Monday that their countries were “standing at the turning point of history... and should move forward with joined hands”.

Lam said after the talks that the two leaders “reached many important and comprehensive common perceptions”, according to Vietnam News Agency.

China has remained Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, with total trade between the two countries accounting for 16.8 percent of Malaysia’s global trade last year, according to the Malaysian foreign ministry.

Xi’s arrival came hot on the heels of his visit to Vietnam.

The two nations said, “they will jointly oppose hegemony and power politics (and) jointly oppose unilateralism in all forms”, in a joint statement published Tuesday in Vietnamese state media after Xi’s visit.

The two sides also agreed to “maintain an open, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory multilateral trade regime with the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the core ... and promote economic globalisation”.

Agencies