SOUTH-EAST ASIA (Bloomberg)K Malaysia will hold an inaugural joint summit for China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a key bloc of Middle East states in May as they navigate global trade tensions, Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim said.
Asean must expand its global engagement beyond traditional partners, Anwar said at a conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, whose members include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, will be in attendance at the May event, he said.
"Strengthening ties with China, the Gulf Cooperation Council, BRICS and other emerging economies is not about choosing sides,” Anwar said. "Rather, it is about ensuring Asean’s strategic relevance in a multipolar world.”
Malaysia, which helms Asean this year, is positioning itself as a neutral base as tensions between the US and China grow. Malaysian Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said on Monday he plans to go to the US in the second quarter to engage with investors and discuss trade between the two countries.
"We remain non-aligned and will not be drawn into great power rivalries,” Anwar said. "We reject economic coercion and unilateral actions that undermine regional stability.”
China has been the collective Asean bloc’s largest trading partner for years.
"Malaysia can be China’s gateway to Asean and the wider world,” Zafrul said.
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