DM Monitoring
SINGAPORE: United States President Joe Biden’s new administration may hold meetings with Chinese counterparts at a World Economic Forum meeting in Singapore in May, the organisation’s president said on Friday.
Borge Brende was speaking in a virtual dialogue with Singapore’s prime minister, who called for a reset of the relationship between the two superpowers. “Singapore has had very close ties with the U.S. but also worked very well with China,” Brende said.
“The special annual meeting could be a place where you could see the new Biden administration and China meet.” The meeting has been moved from its usual home in the Swiss town of Davos, from where it takes its informal name, to Singapore over concerns about COVID-19 in Europe.
Beijing has been pushing for greater global influence in a challenge to traditional U.S. leadership. Relations between the two nations soured under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over trade tariffs and Trump’s criticism of China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It cannot possibly be too late for the U.S. and China to reset the tone of their interactions, and avert a clash between them,” said Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong.
“The new U.S. administration is an opportunity to steer the relationship towards safer waters,” he said, adding the U.S.-China relationship should become a key strategic priority for Biden. Neither China or the United States have said whether they will send officials to the meeting due to be held from May 25-28, over which there remains uncertainty given the pandemic still raging across many parts of the world.
Lee said Singapore would work with the forum to ensure the health and safety of all. “I welcome all of you to Singapore in May…and forge a new path forward together,” Lee said in prepared remarks. China called for peaceful ties with US: Coming to a new crossroads in China-US relations, Beijing called for a return to the right track of stable and healthy bilateral relations with mutual respect and cooperation, which is crucial to the world’s peaceful development and prosperity.
In a video conference on Friday with US representatives attending the 12th China-US CEO and former senior officials’ dialogue, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan underscored the importance of China-US relations on world prosperity and stability, and stressed mutual respect and cooperation to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations. Wang said the development of bilateral trade and economy have shown complementary advantages, mutual benefits and win-win results since China and the US established diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Facts have shown that cooperation and common interests outweigh conflicts and differences between China and the US. In the long run, the two countries still face competition in many areas, and there are differences and common interests between the two sides, Wang said. US representatives said the two countries should meet halfway and look for the largest possible common ground on cooperation to guarantee a healthy and stable development in bilateral relations.
