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By Danial Azhar, Ashley Tang and Ethan Wang
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Wednesday for Asian nations to unite in resisting geopolitical confrontation, unilateralism and protectionism, as he aims to consolidate ties with some of China's closest neighbours amid a deterioration of relations with the U.S.
Xi is in Malaysia as part of a three-nation Southeast Asian trip that includes Vietnam and Cambodia.
China and Malaysia reached a consensus on deepening cooperation in various fields, Xi said after witnessing the exchange of 31 agreements with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ranging from trade and tourism to railway transportation and agriculture. No details were provided for the agreements.
"In the face of shocks to the current international order and economic globalisation, our two nations will stand united with other countries in the region to jointly resist the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, overcome the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism, and safeguard the promising prospects for development in our shared Asian home," Xi said at a function with Anwar.
Xi's comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January, shocked markets by imposing sweeping tariffs on countries across the world. While some of the tariffs have since been delayed, Beijing faces 145% duties.
Xi did not directly refer to the United States in his remarks in Kuala Lumpur.
As part of his "America First" policy, Trump has also pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, hollowed out USAID and halted international aid.
China has said it is "tearing down walls" and expanding its circle of trading partners amid the trade war.
With an additional tariff of 24% on goods shipped to the U.S., Malaysia was among several Southeast Asian nations facing hefty U.S. levies before Trump announced his 90-day pause. Malaysian officials have begun reaching out to the U.S. for a reprieve.
Anwar said China remained Malaysia's most significant trading partner and continued to be a "rational, strong and reliable" ally during upheaval in global geopolitics.
"At a time when multilateralism is under tremendous strain, when some nations abandon the principle of shared responsibility and others question long-standing commitments, China’s global initiatives offer a new lease on hope," Anwar said.
China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner since 2009, with total trade valued at 484.1 billion ringgit ($110 billion) last year, according to Malaysia's foreign ministry.
Xi urged Malaysia and other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc to jointly resist decoupling, supply chain disruptions and "excessive tariffs" with openness and greater cooperation, China's state-run CCTV reported.
China and Malaysia must also proceed with their cooperation under Beijing's Belt and Road initiative, other transport infrastructure investments, as well as in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence, Xi said.
Last June, China said it was willing to study a plan to connect Malaysia's $10 billion East Coast Rail Link with other China-backed railway projects in Laos and Thailand, potentially expanding the BRI across Southeast Asia.
Xi said China also welcomes more high-quality Malaysian agricultural products into the Chinese market, CCTV reported following Xi's meeting with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim.
($1 = 4.4150 ringgit)
(Reporting by Danial Azhar and Ashley Tang in Kuala Lumpur, Ethan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
