Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong Talks Adapting Economically & Politically
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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To bring you down to earth a little bit, you could argue that the success of Singapore has been based around two things, being a bastion of free trade. and also being somewhere between East and West. And now you have protectionism on the rise, and we have that struggle between China and America.
That worries us.
I think it worries us all. But when Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea, you called it a temporary truce. And I wonder, you've just seen this spat going on between Japan and China over Taiwan. How precarious does Asia feel at the moment?
I thought, first of all, going back to the meeting between the two leaders, President Xi and President Trump, it was a good meeting. And while it may be a temporary truce, a temporary stabilization in the relationship, it's much needed. And it will provide guardrails for the two powers to you know, engage one another. It will open up channels of communication. It's not just once off because the two leaders will meet probably four times next year because President Trump has said he will visit China, President Xi will probably visit back, and then there's APEC in Shenzhen and G20 in Miami. So many opportunities for engagement and It's much needed for stability. The intense competition and rivalry will continue, I'm sure.
The mutual suspicion and distrust remains. But the guardrails will ensure that the rivalry does not slide into a full decoupling or worse confrontation and conflict. So on that, I'm slightly... hopeful after seeing the rapport, the engagement that the two of them had, at least in the near term.
Do you think China won that particular round? It seemed that America gave way on most things.
I'm not here to referee whether one side won or another. All I want is the both to coexist and engage constructively. Now, on Japan and China, we all want stability in Asia. I mean, that's, of course, something we, it's in everyone's interest. So we certainly hope that both countries will find ways to de-escalate the current issue. The China-Japan relationship is important. Economically, it's important. China is Japan's largest trading partner. But it's a complex relationship, partly because of the U.S.-China strategic competition. So everything that China and Japan has is seen through that larger prism. They also have disputes in the Singapore Islands. And of course, it's also because of the overhang of the history of the Second World War, which still remains between the two countries.
We hope the two countries will find ways to resolve these very complex issues and move forward. Southeast Asia has done that with Japan, as far as the history is concerned. It has taken some time, but with the passage of time, with the passing of generations, the feelings are not the same. And we have put the history aside and we're moving forward. And it's quite striking that survey after survey shows that Japan is the number one trusted great power in Southeast Asia.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–5:26
2
What economic challenges is Singapore facing in a decoupling world?
5:26–10:10
3
How do China and America's relationship impact Asia's stability?
10:10–18:51
4
What role does Japan play in the regional dynamics with China?
18:51–21:59
5
How is ASEAN adapting to the changing global landscape?
21:59–24:34
6
What strategies is Singapore employing to attract foreign investment?
24:34–33:55
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Bloomberg Talks
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