Speaking with a 94-year old state leader – currently, the oldest serving in the world, at that – can be nerve-wracking. More so perhaps when he is known to be a man who does not mince his words, one who has come out of retirement to re-lead his nation because he couldn't stand seeing it tumble and, disclaimer, who is the very Prime Minister of the country I was born and raised in. 

Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, true to or despite what supporters and critics alike may have said about him over the years, is a legend in his very own right. 

Knowing he was going to attend the Second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing end April, I knew I had to speak to him. This became even more important when Malaysia, just a few weeks back, revived two major-Chinese backed projects - on the back of a suspension order after Mahathir re-took office. 

I wanted to hear from him firsthand where he thinks Malaysia-China relations will go forth from here. And it seems, this trip was fruitful in many ways, a sentiment echoed by a few businessmen from both countries I've had a chance to speak to.

This was Mahathir's second visit to China in less than a year. He paid a state visit to China in August 2018 - just months after he was re-elected to his post in May.

His mind still agile (and even witty), body able, and in the usual fashion, he was unfazed by any questions that are thrown at him. I can't help but ask him how does he feel working and still leading a nation at age 94. 

"Well, it is the same if I am 70 years old. It's not the age that's the problem," Mahathir said.

"It's the ability to function, to think, work, discuss, and to argue our cases. I feel that I can still perform, I don't know for how long but at this moment I can still lead Malaysia, and be able to contribute towards its development." 

On the Belt and Road Initiative

I began by asking what Mahathir thought of the Second Belt & Road Forum, which seems to focus on the "next steps" of the initiative - in building high-quality infrastructure projects, and that comes along with ensuring debt sustainability and increasing transparency.  

"Initially we thought the BRI was about Silk Road, the land route to Europe, and sea route through the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. But now it is quite clear it is practically a world-wide project involving not only Southeast Asia and China, but also the Middle East, Africa, and even Latin America. It is an effort to improve connectivity all over the world. It is a much bigger initiative than we at first thought."

"I am very glad that I'm here because now that I understand better the intention behind this idea of the BRI."

Mahathir explained that the problems it had with the East Coast Rail Link and Bandar Malaysia aren't about Malaysia and China. 

"It's about money, it is too expensive for us, we have to reduce the cost. Even if the project is with another country, we would have adopted the same strategy to reduce borrowings from other countries. It is not linked to the BRI."

"Chinese companies have been investing a lot in Malaysia, I met them just now and I find that they have put in a lot of money into Malaysia. And they seem to be happy to quite happy with it. And we welcome their investment as much as we welcome all FDI."

Mahathir said China understands the problem of Malaysia "to the extent they can and have been accommodating, and they have reduced the costs and to fit in with Malaysia's own financial capacity."

On trade with China

Mahathir is positive on China's commitment to continue opening up its markets. 

"China has always been a good market for Malaysia, even before. But now with the opening up of the Chinese market, we think we could increase our trade with China."

"I think this is a good thing because always there must be two-way access. You must be able to export, but if you want your export to be accepted, you must also accept imports into your own country."

"We also produce microchips which, although China is very far ahead in manufacturing, still there are Chinese companies which need products that we produce from Malaysia. And a number of electronic products are also being exported to China and we hope to increase these exports."

'Much to learn from China'

In Mahathir's previous trip to China in August 2018, he was not shy to repeatedly acknowledge that there is much for Malaysia to learn from China. 

The sentiments remained the same in this trip. And the message from Mahathir is clear: China has been able to develop a lot of new technologies and Malaysia needs that technology. 

"We need to learn from China on IT, AI, new methods of communication and data gathering. All these are available in China. Even sophisticated medical pieces of equipment are being built in China now. 

"So we look to China to supply our needs because normally the cost in China is lower than Europe and they can compete in our market against European suppliers. So I would imagine in the future, more and more products coming from China will be available in Malaysia."

Another area where Malaysia can learn from China according to Mahathir: the automotive industry. 

"We remember the first Chinese car, the Cherry, it was very poor quality. But now Chinese cars are as good as European-made cars, certainly, the new produced by Geely and Proton, SUVX 70, it is a very good car. It is as good as any car that I've driven."

'Don't see Huawei as a national security threat'

In Mahathir's previous trip in August 2018, he visited Alibaba Group, Geely Automobile Holdings and drone maker DJI. 

This time around, he visited Huawei's R&D center and AI company SenseTime.

"These companies have shown their ability to innovate and to make full use of the new technologies and knowledge. i.e. we talked about AI, we know about it and we must know the application."

"Huawei has developed applications including their 5G to the extent that it is far ahead of most other companies in the world. Their research is very deep and expanded to many areas. So we want to know from them what are they capable of so we can make use of their technology and products to improve communication in Malaysia."

Mahathir says he doesn't share the concerns of some countries that Huawei may potentially be deemed as a national security threat. 

"I think that there is no stopping the development of technology. Even if you keep a company out of a country, today companies and their technologies can reach out across borders so you can't erect barriers against modern tech. Whether you keep your borders closed or not."

Will Huawei build Malaysia's 5G network?

"We are studying. I must admit we need to make comparisons between Huawei and other technology providers. Up to now, I think Huawei is very competitive and it has developed technologies that are not available elsewhere."

'We are now much better protected than before'

Mahathir was highly instrumental in leading Malaysia out of recovery - quicker than its neighboring peers - from the Asian Financial Crisis that happened slightly more than 20 years ago. 

I asked him if he believes in the "10-year cycle" of a crisis that some may subscribe to.

"Well in the first place it's not always 10 years. It may be longer it may be shorter. But so far nothing adverse has happened. To repeat what happened in 1997/98 and I think we are better prepared for such eventualities."

"We have learned how to handle the attacks against our currency, and we think that we are now much better protected than before."

Mahathir sees things affecting many parts of the world that also affects Malaysia. "For example, the trade war between China and the U.S. has affected our economy as well."

To this end, Mahathir is of the firm view that "trade war is very negative and does not produce anything good at all." 

"We would like to see an end to the trade war," he said.