Anwar promotes Asean as Beijing's gateway to wider markets

He makes third visit to China as PM, ahead of Malaysia's chairmanship of regional bloc

- Lu Wei Hoong and Lim Min Zhang

KUALA LUMPUR/BEIJING - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has sought to push Asean as China's gateway to wider markets and influence on his third visit to China since taking office, in preparation for Malaysia's chairmanship of the regional grouping in 2025.

During the visit from Nov 4 to Nov 7, Datuk Seri Anwar held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Shanghai, where he also attended the China International Import Expo.

Mr Anwar also paid a courtesy call on Chinese President Xi Jinping, who hosted a state dinner for him in Beijing.

Backbencher Lee Chean Chung, who was part of Mr Anwar's entourage, observed that this third trip to China was different from the leader's previous visits in March and September of 2023.

"We (Malaysia) are coming to China as the incoming Asean chairman. Under the circumstances of the China-US trade war and the decoupling of global supply chains, China needs friends. Asean-China is an important bloc for Beijing to have a mutual friendly relationship," the communications director for Mr Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat told The Straits Times.

The 10-member regional grouping is China's largest trading partner. In 2023, bilateral trade between Beijing and Asean amounted to US$468.8 billion (S$620 billion), up 10.5 per cent from the previous year. And China continues to maintain a trade surplus with Asean, of US$97.6 billion in 2023.

China, the world's second-largest economy, is also a key investor in Malaysia.

Mr Anwar's visit was also timely, given President-elect Donald Trump's recent triumph in the US presidential election, said Assistant Professor Tan Chee Meng, a China expert at the University of Nottingham Malaysia.