AWANITonight with @fayekwan_
1. M’sia, China to set up council to oversee MOUs
2. U.S. threatens to abandon Ukraine peace efforts if no progress soon
1. M’sia, China to set up council to oversee MOUs
2. U.S. threatens to abandon Ukraine peace efforts if no progress soon
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00:00Malaysia and China are setting up a consultative council to monitor the implementation of 31 Memoranda of Understanding, or MOU, recently signed between the two countries.
00:23To ensure effectiveness, Foreign Minister Datuk Sri Muhammad Hassan says each ministry and agency involved will be required to submit a quarterly report to his ministry.
00:35He said the formation of the council was crucial to oversee agreements that span multiple sectors.
00:42Wismaputra and China's Foreign Affairs Ministry would serve as coordinators for the council's operations.
00:48The quarterly reports would then be presented as a status report to the Cabinet.
00:52Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese President Xi Jinping witnessed the exchange of MOUs and documents covering areas including artificial intelligence, the digital economy and tourism.
01:04The signing ceremony was part of Xi's three-day state visit to Malaysia, his first trip to the country since 2013.
01:13Malaysia's engagement with China should not be interpreted as political alignment, according to an analyst.
01:19Instead, it emphasises the country's commitment to a balanced foreign policy amid intensifying US-China rivalry.
01:29Angeline Tan, an analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, or ISIS Malaysia, believe that the Malaysian government would be very open to senior-level engagement with Washington, but that there are very limited opportunities.
01:42Well, not everything is about the U.S.
01:45In fact, China and Southeast Asia have long shared a deep and fruitful partnership.
01:50So I think this trip, for example, is a reflection of Beijing's efforts to strengthen its neighbourhood diplomacy, which is something that has been important to China's foreign policy since the early 2000s.
02:02It might appear as if we are leaning towards China, but it does not necessarily mean that we are pro-China.
02:09Being China-friendly is not necessarily the same as pro-China.
02:14China's economic, political, cultural relationship with Malaysia is a fact.
02:19It's something that is organic and natural.
02:23People seem to think that choosing a side will be an easy decision or an easy outcome for us.
02:30But choosing a side actually changes the status quo in the region and it spurs geopolitical tensions.
02:36So that's not actually going to be in Malaysia's interest.
02:39And I don't think it would be in the interest of regional stability either.
02:43Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Malaysia as part of a three-nation Southeast Asian trip, including Vietnam and Cambodia.
02:49Malaysia's largest port, or Westport, continues to operate despite global uncertainty surrounding U.S.'s tariff policies.
03:00Containers, trucks and cargo movement were seen proceeding as usual at the port in Klang as of Friday.
03:08According to the World Trade Organization, global trade in goods is expected to decline by 0.2% this year.
03:14This follows President Donald Trump's shifting tariff policies amid Washington's ongoing trade war with Beijing.
03:20Should Trump follow through with his steep reciprocal tariffs, the impact on global trade follows could be even more pronounced.
03:27Experts have warned that the impact would not just be on China, but also on export-reliant economies across the Southeast Asia region.
03:34Indonesia plans to boost oil and gas imports from the U.S. as part of a deal to ease Washington's reciprocal tariffs.
03:50Its Chief Economic Minister, Ayelanga Hartarto, says the talks will be completed within 60 days.
03:58Under the plan, Indonesia would increase its purchase of liquefied petroleum gas, crude oil and gasoline.
04:04It also plans to continue buying American agricultural products such as wheat, soybeans and soybean milk.
04:10The country has also pledged to assist American companies operating in Indonesia by providing easier access to permits and incentives.
04:18Ayelanga's announcement comes after he and other delegates met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
04:24along with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Letnick and Trade Representative Jameson Greer.
04:29He said the team hoped to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Besant next week,
04:33noting that Indonesia has been one of the first countries to engage in negotiations with Washington.
04:39The 32% tariffs imposed on Indonesia were among the highest in Asia, but has been temporarily suspended for 90 days.
04:47According to data from the U.S. Trade Representative Office,
04:51Washington's goods trade deficit with Jakarta stood at US$17.9 billion in 2024.
04:57We'll be back with more after the break. Stay tuned.
05:02U.S. President Donald Trump says that China has reached out to talk since the U.S. imposed tariffs on imports from the country.
05:27Trump adds that he would delay a deal on TikTok until the trade issue with China is worked out.
05:33I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I think it's going to continue.
05:39And I would say they have reached out a number of times.
05:46Xi or they?
05:47Well, the same. I view it very similar. It would be top levels of China.
05:51And if you knew him, you would know that if they reached out, he knew exactly.
05:55He knew everything about it. He runs it very tight, very strong, very smart.
05:59And, yeah, we're talking to China.
06:02So you previously said that you would consider reducing tariffs on China to get a TikTok deal done.
06:08Is that still on the table as of now?
06:11Well, we have a deal for TikTok, but it'll be subject to China.
06:14So we'll just delay the deal until this thing works out one way or the other.
06:17And I think it's a good deal for China.
06:19The TikTok deal is very good. TikTok is good for China.
06:23And I think they'd like to see us do a deal, especially the deal that we have pretty much done with some of the best companies in the world.
06:30If they agree to sign the deal, would you take that into consideration?
06:33I think it would be something we discuss because, you know, it's a natural.
06:37If we're making a deal, I guess we'll spend five minutes and talk about TikTok.
06:41It wouldn't take very long.
06:42Earlier on Thursday, China's Commerce Ministry urged the United States to stop putting extreme pressure on the world's second-largest economy and demanded respect in any trade talks.
06:53While Trump has temporarily relaxed his recently announced hefty tariffs on goods from dozens of trading partners,
07:00he left in place his new import levies on Chinese goods that sum together total 145%.
07:07U.S. President Donald Trump says that if countries don't make deals with the U.S. in trade talks,
07:14then Washington will have to make the deal for them.
07:17Trump made the remarks at an impromptu news conference in the Oval Office
07:21as he greeted visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
07:27I think we're going to do even better this time because you will see that the numbers that we're taking in are astronomical.
07:34We're taking in tremendous amounts of money with the tariffs.
07:38We were treated very unfairly on trade.
07:41And countries are having a hard time getting used to the fact that they can't do that to us anymore.
07:46I think you're going to see some fantastic numbers where this all happens.
07:50It's happening now.
07:51I mean, everybody wants to make a deal.
07:52And if they don't want to make a deal, we'll make the deal for them.
07:56Because that's what's going to happen.
07:57We're just saying this is what it is.
08:00But we want to listen to everybody and I think I can say for Scott and the other people that are working on it
08:09that we're listening and we're going to be very fair to people.
08:15But, you know, we're the one that really sets the deal and that's what we'll be doing.
08:20Meloni, a 48-year-old conservative who Trump has warmed to,
08:23was the only European Union leader invited to Trump's inauguration in January.
08:27Trump's move to pause most global tariffs for 90 days last week has eased some pressure on Meloni.
08:33Trump added that the US has brought in tremendous amounts of money from tariffs imposed so far.
08:41Meanwhile, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned global South nations
08:45that power politics and unilateral bullying is hurting a rules-based world.
08:51In a written speech at a roundtable of diplomats and scholars from developing countries,
08:55Wang stresses that the world is at a critical crossroads,
08:59urging the countries to oppose unilateral protectionism.
09:04Beijing has been keeping up the diplomatic pressure on US President Donald Trump
09:09to roll back his punitive trade tariffs.
09:11Trump on April 2 announced reciprocal tariffs on many US trading partners,
09:15with China taking the biggest blow.
09:17While tariffs on many countries were postponed by 90 days,
09:20the US maintained its stance on China,
09:23prompting swift retaliatory tariffs from Beijing.
09:26China has also stepped up its lobbying efforts globally,
09:29with President Xi Jinping having just concluded his official visit to Southeast Asia.
09:34Beijing is also planning to convene an informal UN Security Council meeting on April 23,
09:40inviting all 193 member states to call out the US for imposing tariffs.
09:45In other news, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump
09:52will abandon efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal
09:56unless there are clear signs of progress within days.
10:00Speaking in Paris after meeting with European and Ukrainian leaders,
10:04Rubio stressed that a decision must be made quickly in a matter of days
10:07on whether a deal is possible in the coming weeks.
10:11But we're not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.
10:15So we need to determine very quickly now,
10:17and I'm talking about in a matter of days,
10:18whether or not this is doable over the next few weeks.
10:22If it is, we're in.
10:24If it's not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well.
10:28Rubio's warning came amid signs of some progress in US talks with Ukraine.
10:33Trump said on Thursday he expects to sign an agreement with Kiev next week,
10:37giving the US access to Ukraine's mineral resources.
10:41A similar deal collapsed in February after a clash between President Zelensky,
10:46Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office.
10:49There are growing frustrations inside the White House over a lack of progress
10:53in pushes to settle a growing list of geopolitical challenges.
10:58During Trump's campaign, he vowed to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office,
11:04but later revised his timeline to April or May.
11:06The Prime Minister had previously met Musk during his visit to Washington in February this year.
11:33Modi's latest conversation with Musk comes at a time when Tesla is reportedly in talks
11:38to set up a manufacturing base in India.
11:41The development also coincides with ongoing India-US trade negotiations.
11:45Despite India being hit by an initial 27% US tariff hike that is now on pause,
11:50India is signalling openers to cutting tariffs and agreeing to pursue trade liberalisation with the US
11:56with a deal that would help the two nations reach a two-way trade worth US$500 billion by 2030.
12:02US Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to visit India next week for further discussions.
12:32The Prime Minister is about the United Kingdom in a production of The Prime Minister.
12:35The Prime Minister of France is on the