KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — Tun Daim Zainuddin will travel to China prior to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s visit there this month, according to The Edge Financial Daily.

Citing an anonymous source, it said the head of the Council of Eminent Persons is hoping to leverage "Sugar King” Robert Kuok’s business connections in the country.

Kuok is also a member of the CEP.

Putrajaya has shelved at least three large-scale infrastructure projects previously awarded to Chinese firms, such as the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP), the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) and East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

Lim previously disclosed that the projects featured dubious payment structures based on specific time schedules rather than work completion.

In the initial two, he said almost the entirety of the contract values have been paid while less than a sixth of the work has been completed.

Putrajaya stressed yesterday that the suspensions of the projects were not a sign of diplomatic hostility towards any particular country.