The Evolution Of Mahathir Government's China Policy (1981-2003)

In May 2019,Mahathir was re-elected as Prime Minister of Malaysia.He is different from the previous government.In recent years,Mahathir has often criticized the close cooperation between China and Malaysia in public.In the history of Malaysia,Mahathir has had 22 years of experience in power.During his first term as prime minister,his cognition and policy toward China showed significant changes.In the pre-government period(1981-1989),he showed hostile to China.Later in the ruling period(1990-2003),he actively promoted cooperation with China in various fields.This article takes Mahathir's first government(1981-2003)as the research object.It is designed to answer the question: “What is the reason for the evolution of Malaysian perception of China? How does the evolution of cognition affect the change of its policy toward China?”This article believes that Malaysia's domestic ruling elite's perception of China determines the direction of Malaysia's China policy.Threat perception is embodied in the influence of China on the security of state power,while interest perception is expressed as economic benefits.Specificaly,When Malaysia's perception of threat from China rises and its interest perception declines,its China policy will move toward balances.In contrast,When Malaysia's awareness of China's interests rises and threats decline,its China policy will tend to cooperate.Malaysia as a semi-authoritarian state,The elite's domestic legitimation is the most important source of interest for the ruling class.Therefore,Malaysia's judgment on whether China is a threat or an interest is also based on the elite's domestic legitimation.