KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue to welcome investment from China and other countries despite concerns raised by the United States over competition in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor investments.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had contacted him to discuss preparations for a possible meeting with President Donald Trump in Manila or Shanghai.
He said Washington wanted to ensure that American investment opportunities, particularly in AI and chips, were not undermined by other countries.
“Their concern is that opportunities for American investment, especially in AI and chips, should not be disrupted by any other country.
“I told him that we do not interfere in the decisions of individual countries,” he told reporters after attending Friday prayers at Masjid Taman Kosas in Ampang today.
Anwar said Malaysia would provide opportunities for American investors without restricting investment from China or other countries.
“We give space to the United States, but that does not mean restricting China’s activities or those of other countries here,” he said.
He cited Google’s US$15 billion investment, which he said would be accelerated over the next two years.
However, Anwar said investors must meet Malaysia’s requirements, including providing their own water supply, training and university-related facilities.
He said the same principle applied to rare earth investments, with Malaysia remaining open to participation from any country.
However, investors must process the minerals domestically, comply with local regulations and ensure the materials were not used to manufacture weapons that could threaten national security.
“We give opportunities to any country, but the conditions are that processing must take place within the country and local regulations must be followed,” he said.
Earlier, Anwar and Rubio discussed ways to expand economic cooperation under the upgraded Malaysia-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
Bilateral trade between Malaysia and the US rose 25.7 per cent to RM235.19 billion in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.