INTERVIEW | In interviews with CNN and the Financial Times earlier this month, International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking stressed that the US and China had a "global responsibility," and should be mindful of how their trade relations – whether good or bad – affected others.

This appeared to strike a chord with US President Donald Trump, who at a meeting with China's Vice Premier Liu He on April 4, was asked by a reporter to comment on the remarks from the "Malaysian trade minister."