KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Malaysia must continue to engage both the United States and China as they remain the country’s two most important economic partners, said Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said the US is Malaysia’s largest export market while China is second, with both nations also ranking as the top two investors in the country over the past five years.
“And who is our largest trading partner? It’s China. The second largest is the US. So the top two are these two countries,” he said during a fireside chat organised by Deloitte Malaysia today.
Tengku Zafrul noted that both powers collectively made up about 45 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). “So you cannot ignore one, and you definitely cannot ignore both. It’s important that people need to engage,” he said.
He also highlighted Malaysia’s role as chair of Asean this year, which places the country at the centre of regional economic diplomacy. “Next week, I will be chairing the Asean Economic Ministers meeting. We’ll have all the Asean economic ministers here, plus our dialogue partners — India, China, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the US,” he said.
The minister also confirmed that US President Donald Trump and China’s Premier Li Qiang are expected to visit Malaysia in October in conjunction with the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits. — Bernama
