Malaysia will maintain its strong business relationship with China and no Chinese investor will feel left out in this regard, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Speaking to reporters at the Malaysia SME Business Summit today, he refuted Ayer Hitam Member of Parliament Wee Ka Siong’s accusation that the Pakatan Harapan-led government was being anti-China in singling out Chinese investors.

"Wee's statement is terrible and can affect our economy. He has accused the government of deliberately singling out Chinese investors.

"This is untrue. In fact, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the first leader to say Malaysia was not going to follow the US in prohibiting Chinese telco Huawei. Instead, he has been very outspoken by saying that we would continue using Huawei products as much as possible," he added.

To recap, the escalating US-China trade war has seen a ban on the use of Huawei equipment in US telecom networks.

Wee, who is MCA president, said yesterday that the government’s move to review the country’s projects with China, namely the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, had caused Chinese investors to steer away from Malaysia as an investment destination.

"We did have some issues (previously), but these have been resolved, and it includes the ECRL. Now, we are looking forward to further improving bilateral trade with China to benefit both countries," Lim said.

Bilateral trade between Malaysia and China climbed to an all-new high in 2018, rising 13 per cent to RM443 billion from RM392 billion in 2017.

This year also marked the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.

- Bernama