The Southeast Asian trade bloc has invited China and several Arab states to a joint summit in Kuala Lumpur in May. However, Anwar's plan for a trade alliance between ASEAN, China, and the resource-rich,

The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. foreign aid apparatus has created a vacuum that China is rapidly filling, increasing its influence and soft power in regions like Southeast Asia.

The Southeast Asian nation is home to a large semiconductor industry, including top US multinationals such as Intel and GlobalFoundries, and is one of the top exporters of chips to the United States.

Malaysia is discussing with chip companies based in the country whether they can absorb the impact of potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors, its trade minister said, as it looks to hedge against risks to its export-driven economy.

Malaysia will likely send a "ready-made" career diplomat as its next ambassador to the United States, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz made the pledge as he gave updates on investigations into an alleged fraud case involving servers exported from Singapore that may have contained Nvidia chips.

Malaysia had approved investments of 378.5 billion ringgit ($85.8 billion) in 2024, a record figure and an increase of 14.9% from the previous year, its trade minister said on Tuesday.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said Singapore’s investigations were carried out independently and not requested by the US, which has placed export controls on the chips.