CCG President speaks on Sino-US relations at the New Economy Forum in Singapore

CCG President Wang Huiyao was invited to speak at the inaugural New Economy Forum (NEF) which was held in Singapore from November 6 to 7. Earlier in the day, high-profile speakers including Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger addressed audiences on the future of the global economy.

The NEF was created by Michael Bloomberg, former New York Mayor and head of Bloomberg LP, for global thought leaders on business and politics to collaborate on devising solutions to the issues facing the global economy in the year ahead. Billed as a new counterpart to Davos, the NEF puts special emphasis on addressing questions around the emergence of new economic powers, in particular, China. Against a backdrop of continuing US-China trade frictions, the two-day event was dominated by discussion of the future relationship between the world’s two largest economies.

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan opened the event with a keynote speech, stressing that trade was still the “anchor and propeller of China-U.S. relations.” Echoing President Xi’s speech at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai the day before, Wang reiterated China’s commitment to protecting the multilateral trading order. He also expressed concern about growing populist sentiment, which along with rapid technological advances and global demographic shifts, demanded a new approach to global governance.

Later in the day, Henry Kissinger, who brokered the  U.S. rapprochement with China as former president Richard Nixon’s secretary of state more than four decades ago, reflected on his experiences in diplomacy and lessons for the future of geopolitics. Kissinger expressed optimism that the US and China can avert a serious deterioration of relations but warned that “the world would be in terrible shape” if the U.S. and China allowed commercial issues to evolve into strategic conflict.

In the afternoon session, CCG President Wang Huiyao spoke on a panel hosted by Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and head of the Asia Society Policy Institute, entitled “Untangling  U.S. China Ties. ”  The discussion moderated by Andrew Browne, editorial director of Bloomber New Economy Forum, featured thought leaders from both sides drawn from business, media, and academia. Wang offered advice and innovative solutions to help improve bilateral relations and end the current trade dispute, which harms not only both countries but also the global economy.

Wang’s participation in the New Economy Forum was the latest of a series of CCG activities to engage influential stakeholders and contribute new ideas to resolving the current US-China trade deadlock. At the end of September, CCG successfully completed a landmark Track II diplomacy mission to Washington and New York, comprising of nearly 20 events, interacting with US government officials, business executives, and influential Washington thinktanks. In October, CCG hosted visits from the Hudson Institute, a think tank close to the Trump administration, the US National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), and the Asia Society Policy Institute, as well as discussions with diplomats from a range of countries on how to resolve US-China trade frictions and reinvigorate multilateralism.