Goh Chok Tong, former Singapore’s prime minister, delivers a speech at a conference on “US and China: Forging a Common Cause for the Development of Asia and the World” in Singapore, on October 30, 2019. (Photo: Lin Rui / People’s Daily)
Singapore (People’s Daily) – “An all-out conflict between the US and China would be disastrous not only for Asia, but for the world,” said Goh Chok Tong, chair of the Governing Board at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) and former prime minister of Singapore at a conference on Wednesday.
“It might not be a hot war, but an economic and technological war will still have untold adverse consequences for the world,” Goh said.
From October 30 to 31, the symposium on “US and China: Forging a Common Cause for the Development of Asia and the World” was held in Singapore, jointly organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) , LKYSPP of the National University of Singapore, and the United States’ Brookings Institution.
Chaired by Goh, Zeng Peiyan, chairman of the CCIEE and former vice premier of China, and Bruce Jones, vice president and director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, the symposium seeks to enhance mutual understanding among all parties on key geopolitical issues, and move closer toward co-creating a common cause for peace and prosperity in Asia.
“Even an unbridled contest where allies are pressured to choose one side and exclude the other will be highly destabilizing for the global multilateral system. The best way to prevent a conflict is to forge a common cause for the two superpowers to build a better world,” Goh said. “But Asia, in the eye of the storm, can be a voice of moderation — by embodying the shared values of peace and stability, and growth and prosperity — and maintaining an open, inclusive, rules-based multilateral order.”
In Zeng’s speech, he recalled that over the past 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Sino-US economic and trade cooperation has formed a huge spillover effect, which has driven the economic development of the global and Asia-Pacific regions. However, since last year, the US trade friction with China has already affected China and the United States gradually and even the global economy. Zeng pointed out that the so-called “decoupling” between the US and China is a delusional statement.
“Decoupling is against the law of economics, international rules and fair order. It in essence is an extreme expression of trade protectionism and unilateralism, which is quite concerning. If we let it go unchecked, it would be a disaster for both China and the US and the whole world, ” said Zeng.
“I am pleased to see that the recently concluded 13th round of trade negotiations between China and the US has made substantive progress in multiple areas. I believe that from the historical, global and longer-term perspective, China and the US have never been presented with more areas in which they can and should cooperate. The two sides should act in accordance with the consensus reached by the two presidents and properly settle trade frictions on the basis of equality and mutual respect for reaching a comprehensive trade agreement at an early date,” Zeng added.
Bruce Jones said that using tariffs to solve trade problems will only complicate matters, which is not sustainable. “It is imperative that we work together especially amid growing signs of a risk of recession and potential financial crisis,” he said.
Kishore Mahbubani, professor of the LKYSPP, said, “The cooperation between China and the US is of great significance to the world, because the two great world powers share a common responsibility for solving global problems. Major global issues, such as climate change issues, can only be resolved through China-US cooperation, together with other countries.”
The two-day symposium had sessions on “China-US Relations – Trade and Beyond,” “Technology Innovation and the Global Supply Chain” and “Multilateralism.” More than 100 political, business and academic delegates from over 10 countries attended the conference.
