A fruitful Beijing visit awaits Dr M
There is a lot of economic inter-dependence between Malaysia and China. In international trade, China is our largest importer, and in investment, it is a leading player overtaking the West.
PRIME Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad can expect to be accorded a warm reception in Beijing during his five-day official visit to China to hold talks with President Xi Jinping.
According to a senior official at the Chinese Embassy, the Malaysian leader is scheduled to visit Beijing and Hangzhou, the headquarters of Alibaba Group, from Aug 17 to 21.
There has been a flurry of diplomatic activities in preparation for Dr Mahathir’s talks with Xi to iron out disputes on China-linked projects, as well as discussing bilateral cooperation and regional issues.
The involvement of China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the preparations for the summit goes to show how much importance Beijing is attaching to the visit of the world’s oldest prime minister.
Wang is the first top Chinese leader to visit Malaysia since the 93-year-old politician became prime minister for the second time on May 10, after a break of 15 years from his previous rule (1981-2003).
During Wang’s two-day visit to Malaysia on Tuesday and Wednesday, he not only met with his new Malaysian counterpart Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah but also the Prime Minister.
The polite and comforting statements by Wang on Tuesday night after meeting with Saifuddin showed Beijing’s determination to push Beijing-KL ties to greater heights despite earlier strain caused by Malaysia’s suspension of three major China-linked projects.
“My visit to Malaysia is to send a clear message to the international community that China highly values its ties with Malaysia, and that Malaysia occupies an important place in our foreign relations – particularly among our neighbours,” Wang told a press conference.
Describing Dr Mahathir as “the old friend and good friend of the people of China”, Wang said China had confidence that the new SouthEast Asian leader would bring local economic development and ChinaMalaysia relations to greater heights.
When Wang stressed that “the shared interest of the two nations outweigh differences”, it demon- strates that China prefers to look at the larger picture so that MalaysiaChina ties built since 1974 will not be undermined.
China needs more friends, and not foes, amid its escalating trade war with the US and unpredictable economic relations with other Western nations.
For the new Malaysia, it is also important to note that Wang had said: “With the establishment of a new government, Sino-Malaysian relations now stand at a new starting point. China is ready to enhance high-level exchanges and lay out a blueprint for the development of future relations.”
It is clear from Wang’s visit that Beijing, which was rightly or wrongly interpreted as supporting former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the recent general election, is sincere in establishing a close and mutual beneficial relationship with the new administration.
Malaysian leaders who had criticised Beijing and hit out at Chinalinked projects should learn to embrace Beijing.
Like it or not, there is a lot of economic inter-dependence between Malaysia and China. In international trade, China is our largest importer, and in investment, it is a leading player overtaking the West. Malaysia is now a key beneficiary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an important regional economic expansion plan of China. Indeed, just like Singapore, our small open economy needs China more than the big economic superpower needs us. Of course, on the international front, Malaysia can claim that it has played an important role to support China. And on Asean and South China Sea affairs, Malaysia has been a trusted friend and partner of China. Although the local probe on China-linked projects smacking of corruption should continue, Malaysian officials should take care not to paint a wrong picture on China firms when opening the cans of worms. The anger of the Chinese could be felt in the July 25 editorial in Global Times – the mouthpiece of Communist Party of China: “There is an incorrect perception in some quarters that China-backed pro- jects, instead of domestic structural issues, are the cause of Malaysia’s unbalanced economy.
“Nationalism in some Malaysians can be easily aroused during hard times, but we should be vigilant against excessive nationalism, which would obscure the need to address structural problems within Malaysia’s economy.”
In fact, former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin had presented a correct perspective on tainted China contracts when he told The Star in a recent interview that “the fault is with us (the previous government) ... China might have been misled by our fellows”.
Daim, also a special envoy of the Prime Minister to China, must have told Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Wang his view when he met with them last month in Beijing to prepare for Dr Mahathir’s visit.
In two weeks, our Prime Minister will embark on an important trip to meet with his old friend President Xi. Inevitably, Malaysians expect him to bring home some good news.
China is unlikely to let Malaysia down as it has indicated it is prepared to renegotiate the contract terms of some infrastructure projects.
Hence, both countries are likely to hamme r out a mutually beneficial solution for the East Coast Rail Link and gas/oil pipeline projects.