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.

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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.