Singapore PM Says China Has Key Role in New Global Order

JAKARTA - Singapore Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong believes China will play an important role in shaping a more resilient global order amid an increasingly uncertain world. The Straits Times quoted Thursday, March 26 reported, PM Wong saw China's growing economic weight and capacity make the country no longer just a major player in the region, but also a determinant of a new direction for global cooperation.

China, according to the Prime Minister, has contributed to global development and ideas through initiatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative, and also helped establish new rules in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence for trade.

"Singapore believes that China can play a bigger role in supporting the prosperity and stability of the region," PM Wong said, as quoted by The Straits Times.

Speaking at the opening plenary session of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, March 26, Prime Minister Wong said the world is now facing heavy pressure due to war, geopolitical rivalries, and the weakening of multilateralism. According to him, these conditions are beginning to undermine the institutions and norms that have supported the global system.

The war in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict, said Prime Minister Wong, have pushed up food and energy prices, disrupted supply chains, and raised the risk of a global economic slowdown. He stressed that when rules are replaced by power, no country is truly safe, whether big or small.

In such a situation, PM Wong assessed that traditional multilateral cooperation was increasingly difficult to achieve. Therefore, countries need to find more flexible paths. One of them is through plurilateral arrangements, namely cooperation among small groups of countries that have similar interests and can move faster to test ideas, set standards, and produce tangible results.

He referred to RCEP, CPTPP, and DEPA as examples of cooperation between countries. RCEP or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a major trade partnership in the Asia-Pacific. CPTPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is a high-standard trans-Pacific trade agreement. While DEPA, or the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, focuses on digital economic cooperation.

PM Wong also highlighted China's economic policies. With an emphasis on domestic consumption in the 15th Five-Year Plan, China is considered to further boost regional growth. At the same time, China has placed science, technology, and innovation at the center of its development strategy, including in the digital and green technology fields.

According to PM Wong, this position gives China a great opportunity not only to participate in the next wave of technological change, but also to shape and lead it. He also assessed that the world needs strong supporters for open and rules-based trade as global fragmentation continues to widen.

In Hainan, Wong pointed to the free trade port as an example of China's commitment to openness. He hopes Beijing will continue to move towards a more open market and a more stable and predictable global trading system.

This year's Boao Forum for Asia was attended by around 2,000 participants from government, business, and academic circles.