Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (center) speaks to Chinese President Xi Jinping (not in photo) during their meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Aug. 20, 2018. AP
BEIJING — Malaysia’s state news agency has cited Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad as saying that multibillion-dollar China-financed projects have been canceled.
Bernama says Mahathir told Malaysian reporters during the final day of a visit to Beijing on Tuesday that both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang understood the reasons behind the cancellations and “accepted them.”
The projects comprise a $20 billion East Coast Rail Link and two energy pipelines worth $2.3 billion.
The projects had been suspended pending renegotiation.
Malaysia’s new government has called for drastic cuts to the projects’ ballooning cost, which it estimates at more than $22 billion. Some of that money has already been paid and could be difficult to recoup. /ee