China will not 'be bully'

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The man most likely to be China's next leader has promised Malaysia that Beijing will not be an economic or military bully.

In his highest-profile trip aboard yet, Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao also told Malaysian leaders in Kuala Lumpur his country opposes strong nations bullying the weak into accepting their view of the world.

Hu, addressing the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute in Malaysia on his way to the United States, did not mention the world's last superpower by name.

But his comments, a reiteration of China's role as a champion of sidelined nations, and his choice of Malaysia for a stopover, underlined a desire to be seen to be speaking with an independent voice.

"(China) opposes the strong lording it over the weak and the big bullying the small and has long pledged not to seek hegemony, not to join any military bloc, and not to pursue its own spheres of influence," Hu, who arrives in the United States on Saturday, said.

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While the succession is not assured, Hu is the favorite to succeed Jiang Zemin as head of the Communist Party this year and as China's president in 2003. But little is known about Hu's policies, with analysts eyeing his trip closely.

He was to meet Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi later in the day for talks expected to address everything from trade and investment to terrorism.

Both China and Malaysia joined the U.S.-led war on terror after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington and have arrested Islamic militants at home.

Mahathir, Asia's longest-serving leader who will himself visit the United States from May 13-15, has also been an outspoken critic of U.S. unilateralism and globalization in the past.

China's emergence

Praising Mahathir's policy of rapid industrialization during his 21 years in power, Hu emphasized that China's emergence as an economic power should be viewed positively by Southeast Asian nations who have seen more foreign investors attracted to China.

"History has continued and will continue to prove that China is a positive force making for an economically stronger and more stable Asia," he said.

Seeking to allay fears that China is luring investors away from its neighbors, Hu pledged Wednesday to give Asian countries more business and market access to the world's most-populous nation.

China, a new member of the World Trade Organization, signed an accord with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November to establish a giant free-trade zone within 10 years.

It would be the world's largest, with a combined market of 1.7 billion people and gross domestic product of $2 trillion.

Fears of being undercut

But the export-oriented ASEAN members fear being undercut by China's low-cost producers.

With a cheaper labor force and high growth rates, China is attracting about half of the foreign direct investment in Asia, excluding Japan. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations combined gets only 20 percent.

Despite these fears, China needs Southeast Asia's resources, notably oil, gas and forest products, to fuel its rapid industrialization.

"Our conclusion, therefore, is clear: China's development would be impossible without Asia, and Asia's prosperity without China," Hu said.

China's development will contribute to Asian prosperity and stability, Hu said, noting that China's trade with Southeast Asian countries grew from $8 billion in 1981 to $41.6 billion in 2001.

In the next five years, China will buy at least $1.5 trillion worth of goods and will open its services market to more foreign investment, Hu said.

The 58-year-old Hu makes his first official visit to the United States from April 27 to May 3, where he is expected to meet President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Before that, on April 26, he visits Singapore, the largely ethnic Chinese city state whose business community, like the sizable, wealthy ethnic Chinese minority in Malaysia, is looking for investment opportunities in the ancestral homeland.