Nations agree to oppose unilateral tariffs and foster regional stability

President Xi Jinping attends a welcoming ceremony held by Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is the second leg of Xi's three-nation Southeast Asia tour.

Beijing and Kuala Lumpur agreed on Wednesday to jointly build a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future by enhancing political mutual trust, deepening practical cooperation and expanding cultural exchanges, as the two countries usher in a new "Golden 50 Years" for bilateral ties.

The two sides also expressed opposition to the unilateral imposition of tariffs and vowed to strengthen regional cooperation in the face of the world's instability and uncertainty.

The consensuses were reached when President Xi Jinping held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Xi is making a three-day state visit to the Southeast Asian country, the second leg of his three-nation tour of the region.

After the meeting, the two leaders jointly witnessed the exchange of more than 30 documents on bilateral cooperation, covering areas such as the digital economy, services trade, joint laboratories, artificial intelligence, mutual visa exemptions and giant panda conservation.

During the meeting, Xi spoke highly of the fruitful results of bilateral ties over the past five decades, saying that the two countries should continue to deliver more benefits to their peoples and make greater contributions to regional prosperity and stability.

As friendly neighbors across the sea, China and Malaysia enjoy a traditional friendship spanning more than a thousand years. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1974, bilateral trade has expanded nearly thousandfold to reach $212 billion last year. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years and is also a top source of foreign direct investment.

Xi stressed the importance of the two countries upholding strategic autonomy, saying that China and Malaysia should continue to firmly support each other in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and deepen exchanges and cooperation in national security, defense and law enforcement.

In order to create a benchmark for high-quality development cooperation, Xi called on the two sides to cultivate and strengthen cooperation in cutting-edge areas such as the digital economy and the green economy, and enhance the integrated development of chains related to industry, supply, value, data and talented people.

He also urged efforts from both sides to promote the transformation and upgrading of cooperation in traditional sectors, facilitate two-way investment, advance sea-rail intermodal transportation, upgrade the "Two Countries, Twin Parks" model and build Malaysia's important ports into key hubs for the new land-sea corridor.

 

President Xi Jinping meets with Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 16, 2025.

To carry forward the two countries' enduring friendship, Xi encouraged China and Malaysia to engage in the Confucian-Islamic civilizational dialogue and take the signing of a visa exemption agreement as an opportunity to promote tourism, enhance youth exchanges and deepen cooperation in culture, education and other areas.

China is willing to continue conducting research on giant panda conservation in cooperation with Malaysia, he said.

Malaysia is the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for 2025. Xi said that Malaysia's designation of this year's theme as "Inclusivity and Sustainability" demonstrates a profound insight into the current situation. China supports Malaysia in fulfilling its role and is willing to work with countries in the region to sign the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area Upgrade 3.0 Protocol at an early date, he said.

By advocating peace, cooperation, inclusiveness and integration, countries in the region can resist decoupling, "small yard, high fences" and the abuse of tariffs, thus addressing the world's instability and uncertainty with Asia's stability and certainty, Xi said.

Anwar said the record-breaking cooperation results achieved during Xi's visit are of great significance and are inspiring for the Malaysian side. Malaysia welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and develop in Malaysia and conduct cooperation in emerging technologies so that both countries can achieve greater development, he said.

In the face of rising unilateralism, Malaysia is willing to strengthen cooperation with China to jointly address risks and challenges, Anwar said, adding that ASEAN will not endorse any unilateral imposition of tariffs and will work together to enhance self-reliance and maintain economic growth through cooperation.

Earlier in the day, Xi also met with Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who held a grand welcoming ceremony for the Chinese president.

Xi said he is ready to work with the Malaysian supreme head of state to lead the long-term and stable development of China-Malaysia ties, and write a new chapter in good-neighborliness, friendship, solidarity and cooperation.

Xu Liping, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Center for Southeast Asian Studies, said the new definition of the China-Malaysia community with a shared future has specified the direction of bilateral relations.

Noting that both China and Malaysia are advocates and beneficiaries of free trade, Xu said it is important that the two countries, together with other ASEAN countries, make better use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which covers one-third of the world's population, trade and GDP, especially amid the United States' unilateral imposition of tariffs.