PM Lee hopes US President-elect Biden will come up with framework for 'constructive' US-China ties

Straits Times

Linette Lai

Political Correspondent

17 Nov 2020

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Nov 17), expressing his hope that US President-elect Joe Biden will develop a framework for an overall constructive relationship with China.

This means a relationship in which the United States and China remain in competition with issues to resolve, but ultimately do not want to collide and will work to develop areas of common interests while constraining the areas of disagreement, he said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.

Within this framework, topics such as trade, security, climate change, nuclear non-proliferation and the issue of North Korea can be dealt with, he added.

The Prime Minister also expressed the hope that the World Trade Organisation, under the Biden administration, will no longer be "deliberately pushed to one side" in the way it has been under the Trump administration.

Countries may quarrel over many things, but they should try to "insulate" trade because trade disputes hurt all parties involved, he said. "The more countries avoid doing that, the more it will be credible when they say we believe in multilateral trade, and they believe in win-win development and cooperation with our neighbours."

PM Lee was speaking to Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait in a wide-ranging interview that touched on such topics as US-China relations, the global race to secure a Covid-19 vaccine, and Singapore's own handling of the pandemic.

Mr Lee was asked if President Donald Trump has done "permanent damage" to the way the United States is viewed in the region.

There will be some long-term impact on perspectives on America, as well as how America views itself, he replied. Although the shift in perspective did not start with Mr Trump, it has become more evident in the last four years.

"When you talk about putting America first and making America great again, it is a more narrow definition of where America's interests lie than has hitherto been the way US administrations have seen things," Mr Lee said.

On regional blocs and technological bifurcation, Mr Micklethwait noted Singapore has "finessed Huawei quite elegantly" in giving it some access to the 5G network in Singapore.

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[1:19 pm, 09/11/2020] ☸️  Danny 心: 

Topic :- 

Insights on World Peace and World Prosperity through Global Cooperation and Collaboration

Part 1 

1. Previously, we have great elder statesman like Mr LKY, Kissinger and others who will occasionally publish their great insights and visions about the world and regional situation and scenarios - in order to preserve world peace and prosperity.

2. But recently, we are not seeing politicians with good thoughts and insights sharing their views on global and regional issues that will impact the world and the region - because the global political climate of sharing such thoughts have turn toxic.

3. But increasingly, the world is not going on the right path for the past 4 years, and there is an urgent need to nudge world affairs into the right trajectory - for the sake of world peace, world cooperation and world collaboration - in which many global institutions have been instituted to achieve these, notably WTO, WHO, IMF, World Bank, Paris climate agreement, TPP, Belt and Road, RCEP etc.

4. Humanity is at its worst. Global cooperation in World Affairs is almost non-existent - that smell bad for the World.

5. Aka datang ....

[1:19 pm, 09/11/2020] ☸️  Danny 心: 

Part 2

1. After World War 2 - UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank, WHO and many other World Institutions - are instituted to promote World cooperation, World peace and World prosperity - so as to prevent another world war - World War 3 which likely to draw in nuclear war.

2. For the past 4 years, we are seeing such global institutions' collaboration and settlement of issues among member Countries being chip away, and make ineffective - that come with increasing risk of crippling world cooperation, collaboration, arbitration and mediation - that will increase the risk of superpower going down the path of military confrontation in order to seize economic benefits, world resources and jostle for division into friend and adversary blocs. This is a very dangerous development - that is brewing in global affairs and is moving down the trajectory of nursing a World War 3 - that will threaten to wipe out human civilisation.

3. Any well meaning insights must be shared with the world to stop such trajectory.

4. Aka datang....

[1:19 pm, 09/11/2020] ☸️  Danny 心: 

Part 3

1. The world are seeing 2 disturbing development:-

a. Superpower political and military lockhorn and rivarly

b. Economic conflict - eg. trade war, technology war and finance war that lead to bifurcation into "dual circulation" and the formation of "dual economic orbits".

2. These 2 disturbing trajectory sow the seeds for future superpower conflict and confrontation - that may trigger World War 3 - if allow to continue to manifest.

3. The world need to reverse these trajectory by doing the following :-

a. Reform and fund world institutions such as UN, WTO, WHO etc to make them current, and effective to enforce rule of law and promote global peace, cooperation, collaboration and global prosperity.

b. Turn trade war, tech war and finance war into more collaboration in trade, tech and financial cooperation - to promote business, investment, trade and travel.

c. Promote more military engagement, setting up of hotline, conduct joint military exercise among superpowers to prevent mis-comm and mis-reading that lead to military conflict.

[1:19 pm, 09/11/2020 ] ☸️  Danny 心: 

Part 4

1. Notably, We need to see more world cooperation in:-

a. Global climate

b. Nuclear deal

c. Trade deal

d. Global supply chain

e. Vaccines deal and virus prevention deal

f. Development of vegan meat - to curb epidemic and pandemic from its source (predominantly mass slaughtering of animals).

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