The newly signed Malaysia-US trade agreement has sparked debate over whether it could strain Malaysia’s long-standing economic ties with China, as Washington’s push to secure “reciprocal” trade terms reverberates across the region.

Central to those concerns is Article 5.1 of the agreement, which commits Malaysia to take “complementary actions” when the US restricts a third country - widely read as a reference to China, whose economic activities had previously been targeted by US President Donald Trump.