MALAYSIA wants to strengthen ties with China and move past the brief period of uncertainty following Pakatan Harapan’s victory in the May general election, said Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Azmin said Malaysia had nothing to fear from Chinese investments and joint venture developments, citing the strong trade links dating back centuries between the two nations.

“In the past, military might was used by certain powers to impose (their will) on weaker nations. On the other hand, China traded with Malacca for two centuries in peace,” Azmin said at the China Conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

“If there had been any imperialistic intentions, China could have colonised Malacca then. But it was the Western powers that did that, instead,” he said.

Azmin said the relationship between the two countries has remained strong throughout the years, as shown by the increasing number of joint ventures between companies from both countries.

“The bilateral relationship between China and Malaysia, therefore, must be seen from the prism of that long history, signified not by wars or colonisation, but by robust trade and cultural exchanges,” he said.

Azmin said it was important to emphasise the importance of a strong relationship with Beijing, especially in the light of the deferment of several Chinese-backed projects after the May 9 polls.

“I think this is what our message is now because (there was) a lot of confusion after we took over, after the general election,” he said.

“But here on behalf of our government, I want to give the commitment that we are here undertaking that we are committed to strengthen this collaboration with China and we believe we can learn a lot with Chinese partners, and we want to move forward.”

He said that Malaysia viewed investments from all countries as important, and said the country would adopt a more expanded scale of the Look East Policy championed by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir adopted the foreign policy 30 years ago, with a strong nod to Japan.

But Azmin said that the “repackaged version” of this policy would take into consideration the role of China in the global economy.

“It could be all countries are important to us. We welcome all investments but East is the direction which was embarked on by Dr Mahathir some years back.

“But certainly we need to review the new challenges, there are new economies that are coming up and we believe that when we expand the scale of the Look East Policy, we must learn from China too.” – October 11, 2018.