Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim To Visit China: Strengthening Ties and Infrastructure Support

Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim will visit China on Thursday, the first visit by a Malaysian monarch to China in 10 years. He will meet President Xi Jinping and possibly seek support for plans to boost ties with neighboring Singapore.

Malaysia’s transport and housing minister will also be the ceremonial ruler of the southern state of Johor, the country’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“His Majesty’s visit provides an excellent opportunity for both sides to reaffirm their shared commitment to ensuring that Malaysia-China relations remain forward-looking, dynamic and prosperous,” Malaysia’s foreign ministry said.

Sultan Ibrahim was declared the country’s 17th king in January, a position held every five years by one of Malaysia’s nine royal families who remain above politics.

But Ibrahim, 65, wants to have a say on the country’s political issues, and in an interview with the media before he took office, he said Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas, and the country’s anti-corruption agency should report directly to the king.

2014 was the year the Malaysian king last visited China.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry said Ibrahim will also meet China’s second-ranking official to Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

In June, Lee visited Kuala Lumpur and backed Malaysian plans to boost its connectivity to Laos and Thailand by building a $10 billion rail link.

Lee said the initiative would build a pan-Asia railway (possibly through Johor) from Kunming in China to Singapore, where the outspoken sultan wants to build a rail link.

Ibrahim has spoken of plans to restart a stalled high-speed rail project between Malaysia and Singapore. It would involve a $100 billion joint venture involving China’s Country Garden and a private Malaysian company backed by the sultan.

Data compiled by the American Enterprise Institute think tank shows that of the $26 billion directed by Chinese firms into Malaysia since 2010, the troubled Chinese developer invested just $110 million (the bulk of it in the metals, energy and transport sectors).

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim put the two countries’ trade ties in focus earlier this month when he said China had sent a letter to Malaysia to stop its oil exploration activities in the South China Sea, but insisted China and Malaysia would discuss the issue.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory, including vital economic zones belonging to Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam, according to historical maps. An international arbitration tribunal in 2016 said China’s claim had no basis under international law; Beijing does not recognise the ruling.