The ongoing trade dispute between China and the US will not only disrupt global supply chains and lead to fragmented technology markets, if prolonged, it also will drag down Singapore's economy. With competition between the two economic powerhouses inevitable, both must find ways to establish mutual trust and resolve conflicts, urges Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He said the trade[1] tension would have a negative impact on the global economy, affecting supply chains and limiting investment as well as research and development. Speaking during the Chinese segment[2] of his annual National Day Rally speech Sunday evening, Lee pointed to the smartphone as an example, in which he noted that Apple iPhones as well as Huawei devices comprised components that were designed, manufactured, and assembled in different countries.
If the US did not allow[3] its businesses to use parts made in China or sell these to China, organisations in both countries then would have to manufacture their own parts and chips, develop their own smartphones, and build their own telecommunications systems. This meant visitors to either country would have to carry different handsets to maintain connection, just as Singaporeans did when they previously travelled to Japan, which operated CDMA networks while Singapore used GSM, said the prime minister.
Lee said: "In such a bifurcated world, we still hope to be able to communicate with all our friends conveniently. So our bigger headache is: Which telecommunication should we install in Singapore? The US or China?"
He added that the conflict placed other nations in a difficult position and no one wished to take sides. Singapore, which viewed both countries as "good friends", was no exception, Lee said.
The US was a major defence security partner of Singapore,