BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Malaysia in late May for a summit with a newly established group of Southeast Asian and Arab nations that Beijing hopes to rally against US tariffs, two sources told Reuters.
China is on an offensive to mend ties with the European Union, Japan and Korea after US President Donald Trump unleashed a global tariff salvo on Apr 2, which he then abruptly paused for dozens of countries except China.
Li will be in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN-GCC-China summit on May 27, held shortly after the ASEAN Summit on May 26, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. China has not publicly confirmed who it will send. GCC stands for Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises six Arab states including major oil producers Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
The visit of China’s second-ranked official comes shortly after President Xi Jinping visited Malaysia, this year’s ASEAN chair, last month. While there, he urged ASEAN nations to unite in resisting “excessive tariffs”, and progress has been made on finalising an ASEAN-China free trade deal since then.
The Malaysia meetings will follow the high stakes US-China trade talks in Switzerland this weekend that will likely lay the groundwork for deeper negotiations between the world’s two largest economies after a period of escalation in the trade war.
One of the sources said the planning of the summit, which began a few months ago, predates Trump’s import tax blitz but trade is expected to be high on the agenda with two major geopolitical power players invited to the region.
When asked to confirm the visit, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was willing to “deepen mutually beneficial cooperation” with ASEAN and GCC countries at the summit.
“We will … jointly safeguard the international economic and trade order and the global free trade system,” spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/chinese-premier-visit-malaysia-key-asean-gulf-summit-sources-say-5117496
