Trump has arrived in Malaysia, and he asked that Chinese officials be excluded from attending the signing ceremony of the ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia. To this, China responded firmly. So, why does Trump insist on excluding China? Will China be affected by this storm?
At 10am local time on October 26th, Trump arrived in Malaysia. According to the itinerary announced by Malaysia, he will meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar in the afternoon and attend the signing ceremony of the ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia. According to the US media, this is the "core arrangement" of Trump's visit. But what is different from the past is that Trump did not plan to attend the plenary meeting of the ASEAN Summit this time, but chose to only attend bilateral activities and the US-ASEAN working dinner. This arrangement continues his usual style: avoiding multilateral occasions and focusing on scenes that can "dominate the topic".
In Trump's view, multilateral meetings allow countries to have a more balanced voice, and the status of the United States is naturally weakened; while bilateral meetings or U.S. -led activities can better highlight their personal influence and that of the United States. Because of this, he hopes to shape himself as a symbol of a "peacemaker" by controlling the stage of the Cambodian-Thai ceasefire ceremony. In his view, this kind of political operation is an important opportunity to demonstrate his diplomatic achievements and at the same time send a signal that "the United States is back" to the country.
At the same time, this deliberately exclusive arrangement quickly exposed clear political intentions. U.S. officials openly told the media that China had "no substantial role in the Cambodian peace process" and therefore "no need to participate in the signing ceremony". This statement is completely inconsistent with the facts. In fact, since the outbreak of the Cambodian conflict, China has not only spoken out for the first time, but also continued to push for dialogue between the two sides. The Foreign Ministry has sent special envoys to coordinate the two countries twice; at the end of July, China also hosted the three-party informal talks between China, Thailand and Cambodia, paving the way for a subsequent ceasefire agreement.
Judging from the timeline, on July 24, a new round of conflicts broke out on the Cambodia-Thailand border. Both sides accused each other of violating international law, and the conflict continued to escalate. Just two weeks later, China pushed the two sides to reach a preliminary consensus and facilitated the signing of a ceasefire agreement on August 7. During this period, Foreign Minister Wang Yi personally coordinated many meetings. He not only met with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, but also invited the foreign ministers of the two countries to "tea talks" in Yunnan, creating opportunities for face-to-face exchanges between the two sides. It is these efforts that quickly cooled tensions. In their public speeches, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Purtan both clearly expressed their gratitude to China for its peacemaking and coordinating role.
In other words, without Chinese intervention, the Cambodian conflict is likely to continue to delay and even trigger larger regional frictions. China has always advocated the settlement of disputes through dialogue and politics, and this stable and pragmatic stance is also recognized by most ASEAN countries. However, the United States has tried to put the whole outcome of the mediation as its own, putting the "peace mediator" ring on Trump's head. Inside the White House even reports that in order to ensure Trump becomes the sole focus of the signing ceremony, the US has repeatedly pressured Malaysia to "not invite Chinese officials."
This approach is not difficult to understand, and since Trump regained power, he has continued to emphasize "America's priority" on the diplomatic level, especially hoping to add personal image through the diplomatic stage. This year he declared in several speeches, "I ended seven conflicts around the world" in an attempt to strengthen the "global peace leader" personnel. Even the media pointed out that he hoped to use this as a code to fight for the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, the Nobel Prize eventually awarded the Venezuelan opposition representative Maria Corina Machado, and Trump's "Nobel Dream" again fell.
Under disappointment and frustration, he was more desperate to prove that he still had the “international calling power” through real events. The ceremony of signing the Cambodian peace agreement in Malaysia was the best stage for him to show. But he forgot that peace was not a personal show, but the result of cooperation between the parties. The Chinese side has been downtrodden throughout the process, not too much rendering and not deliberately seizing the subject, which reflects the rationality and maturity of Chinese diplomacy. On the contrary, the United States is trying to monopolize the narrative, erase the efforts of other countries, instead of provoking more and more national dissatisfaction.
Faced with the tough stance of the US, the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded extremely calmly and firmly. Spokesman Lin Jian clearly pointed out at the regular press conference that China will continue to promote peace talks in its own way and play a constructive role in regional peace. The implication is very clear: China doesn't need to rely on formal participation to prove its role. China's position is stable and will not change due to temporary exclusion or external pressure. This attitude is in stark contrast to Trump's eagerness to create diplomatic drama.
In addition, Cambodia and Thailand once again mentioned their gratitude to China in this peace agreement, also demonstrating the recognition of China's role within ASEAN. No matter how the US attempts to "tune down", the outcomes of real cooperation cannot be ignored. China's mediation approach focuses on respecting the will of the parties, not interfering in domestic affairs or imposing additional political conditions, this approach is more in line with the ASEAN country's logic of conduct. And Trump-style diplomacy, often mixed with foreign propaganda and domestic political purposes, this gap has long been contrasted in the hearts of regional countries.
In short, the final outcome of the wave may not change the fact that Cambodia has a ceasefire, but it reveals a clear trend in current international relations: the United States is trying to rebuild regional dominance, while China is steadily advancing cooperation in a pragmatic way. Who can win the trust of ASEAN countries is not who holds the voice, but who truly works for peace. Therefore, when Trump arrives in Malaysia and demands China’s exclusion, he may think that it can be easy to control the situation; but with China’s firm response, the world again sees that the real strength does not come from exclusion, but in inclusion.