Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad to meet China’s Xi Jinping at sidelines of belt and road summit, as ties recover over ECRL project

Mahathir will attend the summit opening on April 26, and speak at a discussion and a high-level meeting the next day, according to local media

His visit comes as the Beijing-backed ECRL rail project has come back on after months of false starts

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Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:05pm, 18 Apr 2019Updated: 9:55pm, 18 Apr 2019

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang separately when he visits Beijing for the Belt and Road Initiative Summit next week, said the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia on Thursday.

Mahathir will attend the summit opening on April 26, and speak at a discussion and a high-level meeting the next day, according to local media.

“Dr Mahathir will meet with Xi and Li separately on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Summit and Forum. At the bilateral meetings, the leaders will exchange views on bilateral issues, with the 45th anniversary of Malaysia-China relations in the background, and map out guidelines for further cooperation,” Bai Tian was reported as saying by Malaysian daily The Star.

He was speaking from an embassy round table with Malaysian media, who also asked him about the whereabouts of fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, believed to be at the centre of a corruption scandal involving the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund.

Malaysia to go ahead with China-backed East Coast Rail link

Last September, Mahathir said that he believed the billionaire businessman, who is wanted in several jurisdictions, was hiding in China. In January, Inspector-General Mohamad Fuzi Harun from the Royal Malaysian Police told reporters they were in contact with Interpol and Chinese authorities in an effort to track him down.

Bai Tian told reporters Chinese authorities had searched for Low last year at the Malaysian government’s behest, but did not find him. He added Beijing was ready to act if any new information was found.