Some quarters have criticised Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for bringing his family with him on his latest official trip to China. But several diplomacy and Chinese relations experts believe it is not out of the ordinary for Najib to do so.

“With Najib, China's standard (practice) is inviting his family, too,” said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

And this, said Oh, had been the practice since Najib’s very first trip to China. This is Najib’s third official visit to the country since 2009.

Also among the reasons as to the special invitation accorded to Najib and his family is China’s high regard for the country’s second prime minister - the late Abdul Razak Hussein.

Abdul Razak, Oh pointed out, had taken the bold step to open official ties with China during the Cold War and Malaysia was even the first Asean country to do so.

“So, during most of Najib's official trips there, they would invite the family to come along too.

“There was once they gave (Abdul Razak’s widow) Rahah (Noah) a photo of Razak and (China’s founding father) Mao (Zedong) in the Great Hall of the People,” said Oh.

Abdul Razak’s contributions aside, Oh said, Najib’s continuing friendship and goodwill with China was also another factor.

Ngeow Chow Bing, of Universiti Malaya’s Institute of China Studies, recalled how then US President Bill Clinton had brought his daughter Chelsea along with him on a trip to China.

“It’s not something out of the norm in terms of the whole family visiting China on a formal state visit,” Ngeow said.

Rizal Mansor, aide to Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor, had claimed that China’s invitation to the prime minister was also extended to members of his family.

Rizal said this in response to criticisms against Riza Aziz, Najib's stepson, for travelling together with the family on the official government trip to China.

Pressure from US

Meanwhile, commenting on Najib, who told off “former colonial powers” not to meddle in the internal affairs of former colonies, Ngeow is of the opinion that the prime minister was referring to billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.

“I don’t think he wants to intentionally shut out the US while cultivating ties with China. He would want to maintain ties with both sides.

“But at the moment. he seems to feel that there’s pressure from the US because of his own troubles coming from 1MDB and latest, with Soros’ foundation,” he added.

Najib, he believes, seemed to think that he was forced to rely more on China due to his troubles.

“It is a reaction to the US’ - in his own conception - mistreatment of him, rather than his own choosing,” Ngeow pointed out.

An email dump by Wikileaks had revealed efforts by Soros to lobby the US administration to disassociate itself from Najib.

Najib arrived in Beijing on Monday for a six-day official visit to China, aimed at strengthening long-standing bilateral ties between the two countries.

Najib and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang have witnessed the signing of more than 10 agreements and memoranda of understanding between the two governments in the areas of defence, economy, agriculture, education, finance and construction.