August 18, 2018

BEIJING — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, with economic development on his mind, made a stop at Chinese tech hub Hangzhou on the east coast ahead of a trip to Beijing billed as an attempt to reset Malaysia's ties with China.

Dr Mahathir's new government rattled the relationship after it questioned the viability of and suspended two major infrastructure projects involving the Chinese - the US$20 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and two gas pipelines worth US$2.3 billion.

His first visit to China since taking office in May is meant to set new strategic pillars to invigorate future bilateral cooperation, according to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry. China's ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian called the visit "a chance for China and Malaysia to show the world that we value our bilateral relations and respect each other's core interests and major concerns", as quoted by Chinese news agency Xinhua.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/mahathir-begins-china-visit-in-tech-hub-hangzhou