Malaysia’s China policy to stay on even keel under Anwar Ibrahim with economy main focus, analysts say

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s new prime minister, is sometimes seen as ‘pro-West’ and has raised concerns in the past about China’s Xinjiang policy
Previous criticism unlikely to trigger ‘a point of conflict’, observers say, with China ties expected to continue ‘predictable trajectory’

China-Asean relations

Kawala XieandJack Lau

Published: 6:00pm, 25 Nov 2022

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Malaysia’s China policy will continue to be steady as new leader Anwar Ibrahim seeks to preserve economic ties, while being “low-key” on contentious issues, observers said.

Anwar, 75, was sworn in as prime minister of Malaysia on Thursday, after a 25-year quest for the position. His appointment ended days of deadlock and intense negotiations following last Saturday’s general election, which his Pakatan Harapan coalition won but lacked the numbers to form a majority government.

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Anwar is known for his good ties with US politicians and is sometimes seen as “pro-West”. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken congratulated him on Thursday, saying Washington looked forward to deepening cooperation with Malaysia and working together to achieve a “free and open” Indo-Pacific.

Previous administrations in Malaysia have maintained friendly relations with China, the Muslim-majority country’s top trade partner since 2009.

However, there has been speculation about how Anwar might approach ties with Beijing, given that he had expressed concerns over Uygur issues in Xinjiang in the past.

In an interview with Nikkei Asian Review ahead of a trip to Beijing in 2018, Anwar urged China to recognise the rights of the Uygur Muslim community, particularly their right to freedom of religion and movement, and said any form of violence – whether by the state or by society – could not be condoned.

Anwar Ibrahim meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing in October 2018. Photo: AFP

Asked about China ties under his administration shortly after he took office on Thursday, Anwar said the Asian superpower was a “pivotal” force and that ties would “need to be enhanced”, while affirming that relations with other parts of the world were equally important.

Zhu Feng, international relations professor and Southeast Asia specialist at Nanjing University, said Anwar’s premiership was expected to boost economic and political ties with China, but it was impossible for contentious issues surrounding US-China relations and South China Sea territorial disputes to be “resolved at once”.

However, Zhu does not see Anwar’s previous criticism of Xinjiang policy as leading to “a point of conflict”.

“The Malaysian government is clear that while China’s actions in Xinjiang might be controversial, it’s not as the US says – like saying it is genocide,” he said.

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Zha Daojiong, an international relations professor and specialist in China-Southeast Asia relations at Peking University, said he did not see major changes in Malaysia’s China policy under Anwar, as the country has always maintained its independence on foreign policy.

“The China-Malaysia relationship has been proceeding on a predictable trajectory since the mid-1970s. That predictability is seldom conditioned upon a change of leadership in Malaysia,” he said.

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Zhang Mingliang, a Southeast Asia expert at Jinan University, also said “stability and continuity” in Malaysia’s China policy would not be affected under Anwar, who was likely to continue in the tradition of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), Malaysia’s oldest national political party whose leaders served as prime minister from 1957 to 2018 and which backed Anwar for the top job.

China-Malaysia relations have seen some ups and downs in recent years. In 2018, Beijing was displeased when work on the East Coast Rail Link, a flagship belt and road project in Malaysia, was halted by then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad citing cost and transparency. The project resumed in 2019 after renegotiations with China and a price cut.

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Tensions have also increased in the South China Sea, where both countries hold overlapping sovereignty claims.

Chinese and Malaysian vessels were engaged in a months-long stand-off after Malaysia’s oil drilling ship sailed into what China calls its historical “nine-dash” line to claim ownership over much of the resource-rich waterway.

Chinese coastguard also frequently patrol the waters off the Malaysian state of Sarawak, where a number of its oil and gas projects are based.

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Zhang said US-Malaysia maritime security cooperation, which has increased over the past decade, would continue under Anwar but remain “low-key” as it has been under the previous administrations – a stance that is acceptable to China.

“Malaysia on one hand is strengthening security cooperation with the United States, with its coastguard and navy. On the other hand, it will openly echo China’s criticism on extra-regional great powers who disrupt regional peace,” he said.

“This approach is more acceptable to China.”