Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday called for talks to resolve the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing and urged the world to accept China's technological prowess.
The US cannot expect to always be at the top in technology, and countries need to talk to deal with a powerful China, Mahathir said at a conference in Tokyo.
He also appeared to side with Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which the US has put on a blacklist.
"We try to make use of their technology as much as possible," Mahathir told the Future of Asia conference, noting that Huawei has achieved a "tremendous advance over American technology."
Mahathir's comments drew praise from China's foreign ministry, which said it hoped all countries would listen carefully to the prime minister's advice and "seek opportunities of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation."
"In fact, against the backdrop of economic globalisation today, mutual development and common progress through mutually beneficial cooperation can open up more room for development for all countries."
"It is worth it to talk to each other and stop this confrontation," he said. He warned that conflict between the US and China would only lead to "greater destruction."
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