US, China Must Find Common Ground Or War Could Ruin Us All, Said Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong

• United States and China have to learn to work together or “everything could be lost,” according to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
• All countries could be affected if war escalates between the two superpowers.
• “Everything is at stake because if the US-China relationship goes sour,” said the official,” you are going to have a state of tension… all over the world.“

The United States and China need to learn to get along because if current conflicts continue, war between the two countries could eventually end up ruining us all and “everything is to be lost.”

These are the words of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the Global Forum on Economic Recovery held last May 19, Wednesday. In an interview with Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of the International Affairs Division, the Singaporean official had plenty of things to say when asked about the antagonism between US and China.

With their economic and technological powers, a war can affect the entire world.

Prime Minister Lee explained:

“For the rest of the world, everything is at stake because if the US-China relationship goes sour, you are going to have a state of tension – anxiety at the very least and conflict possibly – all over the world. Certainly, all over the Asia-Pacific, or as now America prefers to call it, the Indo-Pacific. And that is going to be bad, not just for other countries big and small, but for both America and China too.”

“If the two countries clash, everything is to be lost,” said the Prime Minister.

“Therefore, it is necessary for both countries to decide to work together and accept each other as they are, but work together and find common ground where they can cooperate,” he continued.

It’s not too late to work together…

“There are many [opportunities],” Lee suggested.” Climate change is one, where [US and China] are talking, and John Kerry has been to China already. But it cannot just be climate change. You have nuclear non-proliferation, public health, and pandemics to come. You have the global trading system needing to be on a stable basis in order that countries can import, export, trade and develop their business and prosperity.”

Watch the entire interview here:

Meanwhile, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences senior researcher on China-US relations Lu Xiang has said that many are not happy about what they perceive as a lack of action on US President Joe Biden’s part when it comes to reversing the “anti-China policies” implemented by former Pres. Donald Trump. Now many countries couldn’t help but feel anxious.

As Lu pointed out:

“They are obviously worried that once there is a conflict between China and the US, they will not only face the difficulty of choosing sides, but will also be placed in a crisis situation where they have little control and no way of escape.”