‘US, China should avoid trade war’
SINGAPORE: Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has called on the United States and China to avoid a trade war while urging nations to stop trying to protect obsolete jobs.
“I’m most worried about a trade war,” said Balakrishnan in an interview, here, yesterday.
“I want to make this point: don’t blame trade. The real game in town is the digital revolution.”
Singapore is one of the world’s most trade-reliant economies, with exports more than double the size of its gross domestic product.
The government has cited rising trade protectionism as one of the key risks to its economic outlook.
China and the US were intertwined like never before in terms of trade and investment, said Balakrishnan.
“We need cool heads to prevail, we need to stop blaming trade,” he said.
“We need to work together. We need to create a zone of interdependence, mutual investment, and then reap the fruits of this technological and digital revolution.”
The city-state’s long-held policy of not taking sides in the growing US-China rivalry has been tested over the past 12 months by Beijing’s increased economic might and US President Donald Trump’s uncertain Asia policy.
China is Singapore’s biggest trading partner and a key market for high-end electronic exports, such as semiconductors.
Singapore is China’s secondlargest investor, with US$6.18 billion (RM26.5 billion) last year, according to official China figures. Bloomberg