Malaysia is looking to China to provide “global leadership” in the economic sphere and beyond, a top lieutenant to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday, in the latest signal that bilateral ties are thriving after the brief uncertainties that followed the country’s shock election result in May. Joseph Liow, dean of Singapore’s RSIS, said, “The region’s countries must resist any pressure to take sides if the US-China rivalry does intensify.”