The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will increase trade between Southeast Asia and China, and Malaysia is looking forward to serving as a hub for the greater exchange in the region, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said.
Mahathir is on a visit to China to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
It will be Mahathir’s second visit to China since he assumed office last May. The purpose of the upcoming visit is “mainly to strengthen the relationship between China and Malaysia,” said the prime minister.
Mahathir will be joining other heads of state or government to the forum to discuss cooperation under the BRI, which he has repeatedly said his government supports.
The 93-year-old prime minister said he had advocated long ago the revival of the ancient Silk Road, the land route that links China to Europe, and it was good to see that China also took into consideration the Maritime Silk Road in the BRI.