Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Malaysia yesterday (April 15) at 6:30 PM following his visit to Vietnam. In response to Xi’s Southeast Asia tour, the President of the United States of America, Donald J Trump had something to say about it.
According to him, the meeting aims to figure out how to “screw” the USA
“That’s a lovely meeting (with Vietnam). That’s a meeting to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America,” Trump said, as reported by CNN.
Trump made the statement when the media asked for updates regarding his talks with China about the reciprocal tariffs.
In the heat of Trump tariffs, China has yet to hold a meeting with the USA after the latter increased the tariffs to a whopping 145%. Trump has put a 90-day pause on the tariffs on all countries, except China. At the time being, other countries seek to negotiate reductions in their tariffs during a 90-day pause.
As for Malaysia, the Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI) Tengku Zafrul is scheduled to visit Washington at the end of April to discuss the 24% tariffs initially imposed on Malaysia.
Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, a former Malaysian ambassador to the US and Minister of Legal Affairs told Al Jazeera that Malaysia has never had a problem dealing with China.
“This is a very significant visit. You can read many things into it.”
“China is telling us they are a reliable trading partner, more than the US. We never had problems dealing with them. Under Anwar, Malaysia is getting much closer to China.”
However, is President Xi’s visit to Malaysia (and other SEA countries) focused on battling Trump’s tariffs?
According to the official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared on its website, Xi’s 3-day visit to Malaysia will see the Chinese President discussing bilateral cooperation with Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Both will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.”
“They will then witness the exchange of Memoranda of Understanding, Agreements, and Notes between Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China.”
Xi last visited Malaysia in 2013 and his visit this time is expected to boost the economic ties between China and Malaysia.
What do you think of Trump’s take on Xi’s SEA tour?
