Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) yesterday urged the US and China to stabilize ties between one another, and warned that any clash between the superpowers would have “grievous consequences for themselves and the world.”
“We hope that China and the United States will succeed in stabilizing their relationship and establishing mutual trust and respect to cooperate in areas where their interests are aligned,” he said during the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, China. “The world feels the impact of these tensions keenly.”
Singapore has tried to navigate the middle path between the US and China. It has been an increasingly difficult role as the two powers tussle on everything from semiconductors to Taiwan.
Photo: Reuters
“Economic imperatives are being overshadowed by national security concerns,” Lee said. “Countries are pursuing self-reliance and resilience by onshoring, or friend-shoring, their supply chains. The bifurcation in technological and economic systems is deepening, and this will impose a huge economic cost.”
The speech came before a scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing. Lee is also scheduled to meet other high-profile government figures.
Singapore has become increasingly vocal over the rising tensions, with Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan previously saying that the relationship between the two superpowers has become so bad that the stage is “almost pre-set” for an accident akin to the events precipitating World War I.
Lee recently said that “the world cannot afford a conflict between China and the rest of the world, and in particular between China and the US.”
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