Asean needs better coordination to ride on Belt and Road

We should not be overly pessimistic about the Belt and Road initiative and become inward-looking (S’pore should not bank on Belt and Road; June 1).

I believe Beijing does hope that the initiative will help to push developing countries’ economic growth so as to create a bigger pie that will benefit China, too.

In today’s world, China no longer has the capacity to export its way to growth unless it tries to enlarge the world market. When economies are closely integrated, development is not a zero-sum game.

Protectionism and beggar-thy-neighbour policies will backfire eventually. We should therefore not be too concerned that Singapore would be isolated from Belt and Road benefits, especially when the Republic is in pole position in the region’s economic value chain.

Having more ports in the region is good because that means a bigger market. Even as Chinese ports are now among the busiest in the world, Singapore’s port still is too because the market, especially in this region, has grown.

As long as we maintain our edge over others, we should be fine. The problem with the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) today is its inability to coordinate economic policies effectively.

The Asean common market is not taking off.

Though China’s economy was behind those of several Asean countries 40 years ago, it has surpassed the economies of all Asean countries today.

In the major Chinese cities I have visited recently, the trains and buses are more frequent and less crowded during peak hours compared with Singapore.

Asean should coordinate better to ride the Belt and Road and catch up with China.

Singapore-China relations will continue to evolve and we must constantly readjust our mindset and expectations of this friend while maintaining our principles.