Malaysia being China-friendly is not same as pro-China, analyst says
Malaysia's engagement with China should not be interpreted as political alignment, an analyst says on April 17, 2025, emphasizing the country's commitment to a balanced foreign policy amid intensifying US-China rivalry. Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Malaysia as part of a three-nation Southeast Asian trip, including Vietnam and Cambodia.
"Being China-friendly is not necessarily the same as pro-China," said Angeline Tan, an analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.
REUTERS VIDEO
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Malaysia's engagement with China should not be interpreted as political alignment, an analyst says on April 17, 2025, emphasizing the country's commitment to a balanced foreign policy amid intensifying US-China rivalry. Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Malaysia as part of a three-nation Southeast Asian trip, including Vietnam and Cambodia.
"Being China-friendly is not necessarily the same as pro-China," said Angeline Tan, an analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.
REUTERS VIDEO
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, not everything is about the U.S.
00:02In fact, China and Southeast Asia have long shared a deep and fruitful partnership.
00:07So I think this trip, for example, is a reflection of Beijing's efforts to strengthen its neighborhood diplomacy,
00:15which is something that has been important to China's foreign policy since the early 2000s.
00:30It might appear as if we are leaning towards China, but it does not necessarily mean that we are pro-China.
00:37Being China-friendly is not necessarily the same as pro-China.
00:41China's economic, political, cultural relationship with Malaysia is a fact.
00:47It's something that is organic and natural.
01:00The fact that it visibly seems as if there's so much contact also kind of refers back to last year's celebration of the 50th year anniversary.
01:12So naturally, you would have high-level dialogue between both sides, high-level visits.
01:22But I don't think it's a political alignment.
01:25I don't think it's a strategic alignment.
01:27And if we have more opportunities to engage with Washington at a very senior level as well,
01:33I think the Malaysian government would be very open to that.
01:36It's just that we have very limited opportunities.
01:43People seem to think that choosing a side will be an easy decision or an easy outcome for us.
01:50But choosing a side actually changes the status quo in the region and it spurs geopolitical tensions.
01:55So that's not actually going to be in Malaysia's interest and I don't think it would be in the interest of regional stability either.
02:02So I'll talk to you soon in the future.
02:08So
02:08I'll talk to you now.
02:11She'll talk to you soon.
02:12I'll be back.
02:13So
02:14We'll Named
02:30We'll Hades
02:30Bye.
02:31Bye.
02:32You