Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad plans to visit China in August after suspending projects worth US$20 billion
Mahathir has been highly critical of the benefits of certain Chinese projects in Malaysia. Since taking office, he has vowed to renegotiate terms even as construction work continued
Malaysian and Chinese officials are in talks for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to visit Beijing soon, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions, after Kuala Lumpur suspended China-backed projects worth more than US$20 billion.
Mahathir, who came to power in May following a stunning election defeat for then prime minister Najib Razak, is reviewing major projects signed by the former government, saying many of them do not make financial sense for Malaysia.
His trip to Beijing has been provisionally agreed for mid-August, according to one source involved in planning it.
A Malaysian foreign ministry source said both sides had yet to finalise dates, but Mahathir was “looking forward to visiting China”.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media on the subject. A spokesman for Mahathir did not comment.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
Najib courted billions of dollars of Chinese investment and was one of Southeast Asia’s most enthusiastic supporters of President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.
Arrested this week on charges of corruption, Najib pleaded not guilty and was freed on bail on Wednesday.