Unwise for the West to write off China, says SM Lee

But Beijing should also not underestimate the West, he says at business forum

- Yew Lun Tian

The West should not dismiss China, nor should Beijing underestimate the West, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a business forum on Oct 18.

"I think it is very unwise to write off China," he said. "This works in both directions. The Westerners say, 'We will do this and the other, and China will stay down. I tell them they are wrong. They do not fully believe me."

And when he visits China and its leaders at times expound their views confidently to him, SM Lee would remind them that while the United States has a lot of problems, it also has many strengths.

"When I go to China, and sometimes, the confidence with which my hosts expound their views causes me to tell them, 'You know, the Americans have a lot of problems. You can see all of the problems, but they have a lot of strengths, and sometimes you cannot see all of their strengths. And they are not going to disappear, and they will be there and formidable, I think, for a very long time to come.' "And I am not sure whether they fully understand why I am saying this, so I think both sides have this danger of underestimating the other."

SM Lee said this in a fireside chat at the FutureChina Global Forum, held at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre.

The annual event brings together business leaders, scholars and industry watchers to discuss the Chinese economy, which has in recent years struggled to to stimulate growth while facing geopolitical tensions with the US.

The event is organised by Business China, a non-profit organisation that forges links between Singapore and China.