Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be visiting China for the first time in his current capacity, according to The Star.

He will be heading to Hainan province on Mar. 29 to attend the Bo’ao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference, where he will be delivering a speech on Mar. 30.

Anwar's trip coincides with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to China, and both leaders will be attending the BFA conference.

The Malaysian prime minister will leave for Beijing on the afternoon of Mar. 30.

First visit by Malaysian PM in 5 years

Anwar will be the first Malaysian premier to visit China in five years.

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last visited China back in August 2018 to renegotiate infrastructure projects signed by his predecessor, Najib Razak.

Najib was the last Malaysian prime minister to attend the BFA conference in 2015, The Star reported.

For the upcoming visit, Anwar will be accompanied by Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook and Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming.

He is expected to meet China's President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, according to an earlier report by The Star.

His visit to China comes after a one-day visit to Cambodia on Mar. 27 and a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia which ended on Mar. 25.

What is the BFA forum?

The BFA is an international organisation founded to promote economic integration in Asia.

Jointly initiated by 29 member states in 2001, the BFA holds an annual conference in Boao, Hainan.

The theme of the conference this year is “An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development and Challenges”.

Besides Anwar and PM Lee, other guests invited to the conference include Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire Patrick Achi, according to CGTN News. Spain will be the next rotating president of the council of the European Union.

China's Premier Li will be delivering a keynote speech at the conference's opening ceremony.

China-Malaysia relations

During his first press conference after taking office in November 2022, Anwar described Malaysia's ties with China as “pivotal”, Free Malaysia Today reported.

He said that China was an “important neighbour” that the country wanted to strengthen relations with.

Nevertheless, international relations analysts have noted that the Malaysian prime minister is likely to play a diplomatic balancing act and play a non-aligned role in the US-China rivalry, according to a report by Malaysiakini.

Related:

Top image via Getty Images/AFP & Facebook/Anwar Ibrahim