KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to regain its momentum, saying that the development programme best exemplifies solidarity and cooperation between countries in Asia.
“Translating lofty ideals into practical reality, solidarity and cooperation is best exemplified in the realisation of the Belt and Road Initiative. With the pandemic behind us, we should try to regain its momentum,” said Datuk Seri Anwar in a speech at the Boao Forum for Asia conference in Hainan on Thursday.
Mr Anwar’s four-month-old administration wants to tap Malaysia’s largest trading partner China for foreign direct investment, with the BRI as a key source of investment in the country, say political analysts.
“Malaysia would want more quality investments in the BRI package such as digital economy and the renewable energy or the electric vehicle space,” said Mr Halmie Azrie Abdul Halim, a senior analyst at government regulatory affairs and political risk consultancy Vriens & Partners Malaysia.
“Mr Anwar’s speech is also a precursor to enticing China into being open to his idea for an Asian Monetary Fund that he floated recently.”
Malaysia has several BRI-related infrastructure and connectivity projects, including the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the expansion of Kuantan Port.
Some of these developments, such as the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline, came under renewed scrutiny and were shelved following a change of government in 2018, but were later reinstated under the subsequent administration.
Mr Anwar, who is on a four-day official visit to China until Saturday, is expected to meet the senior management of China Communications Construction Co, the contractor for the 665km ECRL.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that Mr Anwar will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to reinvigorate relations in the post-pandemic era.
China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009. Total trade between the two countries reached RM487.1 billion (S$146.4 billion) in 2022.
China was also the top investor in Malaysia in 2022, contributing 21 per cent of the RM264.6 billion investments Kuala Lumpur approved that year.
In his speech at the Boao forum, Mr Anwar also urged countries to prevent competition in the technology and semiconductor industries from raising costs and impeding progress, as nations protect their intellectual property rights to stay ahead of rivals.
“The rivalry to be ahead in this can take either a productive or a destructive turn. Having said that, let me reiterate that unfettered competition must give way to spirited collaboration,” he said.
