BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to travel to Malaysia in late May to attend a high-level summit involving Southeast Asian and Arab nations, as Beijing seeks to rally support against U.S. tariffs, two sources told Reuters. China is stepping up efforts to improve relations with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea following a wave of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2, which he later suspended for most countries—except China.

According to the sources, Li will be in Kuala Lumpur on May 27 for the Asean-GCC-China summit, taking place a day after the Asean Summit on May 26. Although China has yet to officially announce its delegation, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—made up of six Arab nations including oil giants Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar—is set to participate.

Li’s visit follows closely on the heels of President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Malaysia, which is chairing Asean this year. During that visit, Xi called on Asean nations to stand together against "excessive tariffs," and negotiations on an Asean-China free trade agreement have since advanced. The Malaysia meetings will come just after key U.S.-China trade talks in Switzerland this weekend, which are expected to set the stage for more in-depth negotiations between the two economic superpowers amid a tense trade standoff.

One of the sources noted that while planning for the summit began before Trump’s tariffs were announced, trade discussions will be central to the agenda, with two major geopolitical blocs joining the talks. The foreign ministries of China and Malaysia have yet to comment. Asean remains China's top trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting US$234 billion (S$303 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, according to Chinese customs. China is also the leading trading partner of the GCC, whose trade with China totaled nearly US$298 billion in 2023. The bloc supplied 36% of China’s crude oil imports that year, according to UN data.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that Washington is in trade negotiations with 17 key partners, with some agreements potentially wrapping up this week. U.S. officials have stated that they aim to use such agreements to economically isolate China. Last month, China’s commerce minister held a video call with Saudi Arabia to coordinate responses to the U.S. tariffs.