As coronavirus, US-China tensions add to global economic uncertainties, Asia looks to be a key growth engine
- After a year in which ties between Beijing and Washington further strained, analysts are taking a measured approach to how the outlook could change under Joe Biden
- Global coronavirus recovery seen hitting a few speed bumps before the pandemic is over, and the effects of geopolitical tensions will have wide-reaching ‘implications’
The evolution of the global coronavirus pandemic and geopolitical tensions between the United States and China will continue to reverberate throughout the world for some time, even after the virus is brought under control and bilateral tensions ease, experts have warned.
Speaking at a virtual panel during the Asia Financial Forum (AFF) on Monday, Singapore’s former deputy prime minister, Wong Kan Seng, said the stakes are high in the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, and the full effects it will have on the global economy are still unclear.
“It remains uncertain which way the relationship will go, because it will take time for president-elect Joe Biden to deal with the domestic economy as well as the pandemic. And he is trying to heal a nation that is already so divided, all of it will take up a lot of energy,” said Wong, who is now chairman of United Overseas Bank Limited, a multinational banking organisation headquartered in Singapore.
“It will continue to have implications for the rest of us in the world,” he added.