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Boao Forum for Asia 2023
ChinaDiplomacy

Boao Forum: Singapore, Malaysian leaders voice concerns over spillover effects of US-China rivalry

  • ‘Big powers have a heavy responsibility’, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tells Boao Forum for Asia in southern China
  • Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim highlights tech rivalry, saying ‘unfettered competition must give way to spirited collaboration’

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Prime ministers Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia (left) and Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore have warned of the impact of the big power rivalry on Asia, a region heavily dependent on China for trade but where the US is a major security partner. Photo: dpa
Laura Zhou
Southeast Asian leaders attending an annual economic forum in China have warned of the spillover effects of great power rivalry, calling for healthy competition instead in the latest sign of deepening worries in the region over US-China tensions.
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The US-China relationship was the “most worrying” and tensions between the two were felt “keenly” across the world, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told the Boao Forum for Asia in the southern Chinese province of Hainan on Thursday morning.

“Big powers have a heavy responsibility to maintain stable and workable relations with one another, because any clash between them will have grievous consequences, for themselves and the world,” Lee told world leaders, business executives and academics gathered for the forum.

“And yet, the US and China are at odds over many intractable issues, including trade and investment, supply chains, cybersecurity, emerging and critical technologies, as well as freedom of navigation.

“We hope that China and the United States will succeed in stabilising their relationship and establishing mutual trust and respect, to cooperate in areas where their interests are aligned.”

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has voiced hopes for “a more stable and balanced region”. Photo: AP
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has voiced hopes for “a more stable and balanced region”. Photo: AP

Lee’s remarks come at a time of fierce US-China stand-offs on issues ranging from trade and military and tech supremacy to ideology, leaving smaller nations around the world struggling to find a middle path.

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