Speaking at the opening of the 7th China International Import Expo here, Anwar described Chinese president Xi Jinping’s address at the recent BRICS conference in Kazan, Russia, as “spectacular”.
Anwar said Xi had called for the building of an international community with a shared future, fending off “forces of discord and protectionism” to uphold global peace and the sharing of experience, expertise and technologies with the world.
He also noted premier Li Qiang’s attribution of China’s success as an example of good governance, policies and an attitude that seeks to ensure economic prosperity that benefits the global community.
“This is, of course, not an easy remark because it is contrary to the expression of many powerful economies of the world.
“And that is why I think I would join many of my colleagues in commending China and its leadership for this departure from very obscure, condescending and unfair trading practices,” he said at the event held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center here today.
On Malaysia taking over the Asean chairmanship next year, Anwar said the nation aims to enhance regional cooperation under an inclusive rules-based regional framework.
“In this vein, we would like to reciprocate the forward-looking, shared future principle promoted by China so that when we organise the Asean-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) summit, we would also include what is called Asean plus GCC plus China summit,” he said.
The summit is expected to be held in May next year.
As the world’s fifth largest economy, Anwar said, Asean also had the potential of driving inclusive socio-economic growth that paves the way for an unprecedented era of sustainable and shared prosperity.
“We are leaving no stone unturned, as you have seen here in China, in promoting good governance and combating corruption, as well as implementing socio-economic and industrial reform agendas.
“We continue to be inspired, premier Li Qiang, by your extraordinary success in battling poverty, which clearly signifies a major achievement in social reengineering,” he said.
Anwar, who is on a working visit to China from Nov 4 to 7 at Li’s invitation, arrived in Shanghai yesterday and will be heading to Beijing.