PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will not take sides in the intensifying US-China trade war, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
Instead, he said Malaysia will “tell them to not go to war as it is wasteful”.
Speaking at the Asean Business Summit in Bangkok this evening, Mahathir said he believed both countries will soon come to their senses.
“Both US and China know that the current situation is damaging to both of them.
“If (Donald) Trump loses the next presidential election, we may have a solution,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.
Mahathir was responding to a question on whether the escalating tariffs war between the two superpowers may at some point force Asean countries to take sides.
Asked if his views on Huawei was a message to the US that he was siding with China, he said “we are friendly with all the countries in this world”.
“We also believe in free speech. When we feel a need to say something, even if it sounds critical, we should exercise our free speech. We criticise where necessary, we support when it is necessary,” he said.
On whether he sees the roles between the US and China being swapped, Mahathir said “no”, adding that he was not sure whether China had the ambition to be number one in the world.
“China is growing. It must have its say in world affairs. Before this, we just listened to Washington. They come up with ideas and we are told to accept this.
“China is a bit more democratic. For instance, on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), they invited everyone to Beijing to talk about it.
“For me, I do not like the idea of something being cooked up in the West and expecting us in the East to accept it. China is a bit more sensitive of our feelings,” he said.
China and the US have been locked in an escalating trade war that has seen them impose severe rounds of tariffs on each other’s imports.
They had recently agreed to restart trade talks after a hostile month-long standoff. - FMT
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