KUALA LUMPUR : Chinese Diplomatic Offensive
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Chinese President Yang Shangkun will head a 68-member official delegation on a five-day visit to Malaysia beginning Friday as part of Beijing’s efforts to strengthen its ties in Southeast Asia. The Malaysia stop follows three days in Singapore.
Yang, 84, who is generally viewed as the second-most-powerful figure in China after senior leader Deng Xiaoping, 87, also visited Thailand and Indonesia in June and traveled to Pakistan and Iran in October.
Chinese foreign policy statements in recent months have stressed fear of worldwide domination by the United States--an eventuality that Beijing is attempting to counter by promoting a multipolar world featuring strong bilateral relations among Third World nations.
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