SINGAPORE – Asia has benefited from globalisation over the decades, but now has to find ways to tweak the traditional model of globalisation so that it can take the lead in a more uncertain world, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on May 24.
He added: “Fundamentally, all of us want to have a good working relationship with China. China is a geostrategic reality. It is the largest trading partner for most Asian nations. China’s involvement is also necessary if we are to have any hope of dealing effectively with global challenges such as climate change.
Climate change also poses a global existential crisis, he said, as traditional carbon-based economies need to transition to low- or zero-carbon ones, which will affect workers.He noted that the current bedrock of the rules-based multilateral trading order is the World Trade Organisation , which is based on strong collective commitment, which might be increasingly hard to achieve.
“For the digital economy to flourish, there must be mutual trust and confidence in the exchange and use of data,” he noted. He added that the green economy also requires large investments that individual countries cannot afford on their own.