It’s getting harder for international locations to remain impartial between the U.S. and China as relations between the 2 superpowers get frostier. Washington is attempting to remake the worldwide buying and selling system to encourage international locations to scale back their reliance on the Chinese language economic system, whereas additionally attempting to restrict the development of the Chinese language tech sector. Beijing can also be attempting to create an alternative economic system that doesn’t rely as closely on the U.S., akin to pushing for larger use of the Yuan internationally.
Malaysia’s prime minister doesn’t need to select. In a latest interview with the Monetary Instances, Anwar Ibrahim condemned what he deemed rising “China-phobia” in Western international locations and requested why Malaysia would “pick a quarrel” with China, its largest buying and selling companion.
“Why must I be tied to one interest? I don’t buy into this strong prejudice against China, this China-phobia,” Anwar mentioned in his interview with the Monetary Instances.
Malaysia, like a lot of its friends in Southeast Asia, usually claims neutrality within the superpower rivalry between the U.S. and China. Anwar, in an interview with Fortune final yr, mentioned he was targeted on ridding the nation of corruption and growing Malaysia’s economic system to draw investments from each China and Western governments.
Tesla is maybe the most prominent Western firm to put money into Malaysia; the EV automaker established a regional headquarters within the Southeast Asian nation final July. But different Western high-tech companies, like Micron, Intel and Infineon, are increasing their Malaysia presence, significantly in Penang, a hub for the testing and packaging within the semiconductor business.
But Anwar is brazenly courting Chinese language cash as properly. The prime minister has praised China’s Belt and Highway Initiative, and received a 170 billion Malaysian ringgit ($35.6 billion) investment commitment from Beijing virtually a yr in the past. Chinese language automaker Geely will invest $10 billion in direction of a still-in-development auto hub within the state of Perak. Anwar can also be open to working with Huawei, the U.S.-blacklisted Chinese language tech firm, to develop Malaysia’s 5G community. (Washington has pressured overseas governments to cease utilizing Huawei know-how, alleging it may facilitate Chinese language espionage)
Anwar’s perception that geopolitics is “not a zero-sum game,” which he expressed to Fortune final August, seems to be prevalent in Southeast Asia. Governments within the area need to take pleasure in good relations with the U.S., but should additionally protect ties with China, usually their largest buying and selling companion.
Indonesia, a former champion of the non-aligned motion, says it doesn’t need to get trapped in a U.S.-China rivalry. Vietnam, extra lately, is deploying a versatile “bamboo diplomacy” to steadiness relations between the superpowers. And Singapore, which the U.S. calls a key companion, maintains that it takes “principled positions” with out committing to taking sides between Washington and Beijing.
