The regional bloc won’t impose punitive tariffs on China, according to Anwar. Anwar himself acknowledged that it would be challenging for ASEAN to retain its importance and maintain a balance between the US and China before Xi’s visit.
Chong said,” How ( Xi’s visit ) changes the situation is less well understood, including how negotiations with the United States might work.” Additionally, there are still unresolved problems with China.
These include territorial issues, as well as a possible surplus of Chinese goods as business is diverted away from the US, which could put pressure on South Asian markets and smaller businesses.
Given its low home demand and traditional use of Southeast Asian components in manufacturing export to the United States, he continued,” The degree to which China is able to give a market for East Asian items was left undiscussed as well as Beijing’s capacity to provide funding given its own financial headwinds,” he continued.
According to Abdul Rahman, Malaysia must find a “difficult work” in balancing its connections with both the US and China.
Beijing is a significant buying companion, he said, despite the territorial disputes it has with China.
” Malaysia under Anwar has posed good views about China. However, Malaysians are developing their capabilities in Sabah and Sarawak, which are facing the South China Sea, on the defense before.
Abdul Rahman said he would be curious to see how the two nations ‘ combined foreign and defense dialogue develops, as this indicates China’s desire to strengthen its defense ties with Malaysia.
It’s still hard to say at this point whether these agreements will have an impact on Malaysia’s attempts to negotiate lower tariffs with the US, he added. Trump regularly issues contradictory reports on tariffs.