
ECRL a model project of China-Malaysia cooperation under Belt & Road Initiative
With the project ahead of schedule and coinciding with the recent visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Malaysia, the ECRL's strategic significance is increasingly apparent.
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Trump urges China to quadruple soybean orders
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged China to quadruple its soybean purchases ahead of a key tariff truce deadline, sending Chicago soybean prices higher, though analysts were quick to question the feasibility of any such deal. In a late night post on Truth Social, Trump said China was worried about a shortage of soybeans and he hoped it would quickly quadruple its soybean orders from the U.S. "Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI," Trump said in his post. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) jumped 2.38% to $10.11 a bushel at 0637 GMT on Monday after Trump's post. The contract was steady earlier. China, the world's largest soybean buyer, imported roughly 105 million metric tons last year, just under a quarter coming from the U.S. and most of the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the U.S.," said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted that the deadline may be extended. It is unclear if securing China's agreement to buy more U.S. soybeans is a condition for extending the truce as Trump looks to reduce China's trade surplus with the U.S. China's soymeal futures fell 0.65% to 3,068 yuan per metric ton on expectations U.S. imports could increase supply. China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Under the Phase One trade deal signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans. However, Beijing fell far short of meeting those targets. This year, amid Washington-Beijing trade tensions, it has yet to buy any fourth quarter U.S. beans, fuelling concerns as the U.S. harvest export season approaches. "On Beijing's side, there have been quite a few signals that China is prepared to forego U.S. soybeans altogether this year, including booking those test cargoes of soymeal from Argentina," said Even Rogers Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China. Reuters previously reported that Chinese feedmakers have purchased three Argentine soymeal cargoes as they aim to secure cheaper South American supplies amid concerns about a possible soybean supply disruption in the fourth quarter. U.S. soybean industry has been seeking alternative buyers, but no other country matches China's scale. Last year, China imported 22.13 million tons of soybeans from the U.S., and 74.65 million tons from Brazil. - Reuters


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Philippines' Marcos says China 'misinterpreted' his comments on Taiwan
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday that Beijing has "misinterpreted" his comments saying Manila will be inevitably drawn in to a conflict between China and Taiwan should one erupt. China accused Marcos of "playing with fire" after the Philippine leader said during a visit to India that "there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it" due to its proximity to the democratically governed island. "We are, I think for propaganda purposes, misinterpreted," Marcos told a press briefing. "I'm a little bit perplexed why it would be characterised as such, as playing with fire," he added. Marcos said Filipinos working and living in Taiwan will have to be evacuated if a conflict does arise but maintained that he wishes to avoid confrontation and war. Over a hundred thousand Filipinos live and work in Taiwan, according to Philippine government data. "War over Taiwan will drag the Philippines kicking and screaming into the conflict. That is what I was trying to say," Marcos said. Marcos' comments come at a time of heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway where the two countries have had a series of maritime run-ins over the past years. On Monday, a Philippine vessel transporting provisions to Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal was sprayed at with a water cannon by a Chinese coast guard ship, the Philippine Coast Guard said. The vessel managed to evade being hit. China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president's remarks. Responding to the Monday incident, China's coast guard said it had taken necessary measures to expel Philippine vessels from Scarborough Shoal, which China claims as its own territory. It described the operation as "professional, standardised, legitimate and legal." A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal voided Beijing's sweeping claims in the region, saying they had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.

The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Nearly 1.8 million tourists from China visited Malaysia in first five months of 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly 1.8 million tourists from China visited Malaysia between January and May this year, following the introduction of a visa waiver for Chinese travellers. Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan said that after the policy took effect in 2024, Chinese tourist arrivals rose significantly, from 1.6 million in 2023 to 3.4 million last year. He said the ministry, in collaboration with the travel agency association, is actively carrying out various promotional initiatives to attract Chinese tourists, particularly Muslim travellers. "Among these efforts, we invited more than 100 imams from China and Europe to experience first-hand Malaysia's Muslim-friendly tourism concept, which is in fact, suitable for people of all backgrounds and religions," he said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Aug 11). He was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (PH-Balik Pulau), who asked about the government's initiatives to attract Muslim tourists from China to Malaysia. Meanwhile, in his reply to a supplementary question from Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PN-Dungun) on the ministry's strategy to ensure equitable benefits and economic spillovers to the east coast states, Khairul Firdaus said integrated promotions were being conducted through Tourism Malaysia and the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to showcase attractions such as the Crystal Mosque to markets in Asean, Europe, China, Japan, and South Korea. "However, it is also closely linked to the culture of the local community, and when we are able to promote these elements, it will create spillover benefits for industries such as homestays, handicrafts, and traditional foods," he said. - Bernama