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SINGAPORE : Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said that if he were China, he would want to maintain equitable and stable relationship with the US for the next 20 to 30 years.
He noted that China needs the US for technology, markets and know-how.
Mr Lee was speaking at the FutureChina Global Forum on Monday.
Despite stepping down from office, Mr Lee is still widely sought after for his thoughts on China, as he shares a close relationship with its leaders. -----A frequent mediacock quote
And Mr Lee said China still has much to gain from the US.
"Getting students to go there to learn how Americans manage institutions and produce such a diverse conglomerate of cities and ideas. In China, they tend to be more uniformed in their ideas because they've all been through the same drill. The US, for some reason or the other, throws up the East Coast, the West Coast, North East, North West, Chicago, and the South, Texas. It's that diversity that gives the Americans great strength," said Mr Lee.
For over half an hour, Mr Lee fielded a range of topics, including his thoughts on China's next leadership and how the US should react to China's growing power.
On the economic front, Mr Lee said he has advised US trade representatives to co-op Southeast Asian countries into its system via free trade agreements, while it still has the bigger market.
He warned that failing to do so would see these countries drifting to China, as that's where the profits are.
When asked for the top three statesmen whom he admired, Mr Lee cited Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping for turning China around after the revolution, former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and former US president Bill Clinton.
"Despite his weaknesses, Bill Clinton was a very effective leader. He was able to survive all his peccadilloes, and still present himself as a credible leader," said Mr Lee.
Closer to home, Mr Lee was asked to predict the future of ASEAN.
He said the 10 countries will be brought together by the need to bargain collectively with world powers. But the integration will be a slow process.
"It's different legacies, different systems and it takes a long time to shake off the baggage and become Southeast Asians. And even then, I think we are never quite the same. Because we have been developed in different ways, in different systems," said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee said ASEAN will have more strength if the countries bargain collectively, rather than individually, with China, US or Japan.
He noted that China needs the US for technology, markets and know-how.
Mr Lee was speaking at the FutureChina Global Forum on Monday.
Despite stepping down from office, Mr Lee is still widely sought after for his thoughts on China, as he shares a close relationship with its leaders. -----A frequent mediacock quote
And Mr Lee said China still has much to gain from the US.
"Getting students to go there to learn how Americans manage institutions and produce such a diverse conglomerate of cities and ideas. In China, they tend to be more uniformed in their ideas because they've all been through the same drill. The US, for some reason or the other, throws up the East Coast, the West Coast, North East, North West, Chicago, and the South, Texas. It's that diversity that gives the Americans great strength," said Mr Lee.
For over half an hour, Mr Lee fielded a range of topics, including his thoughts on China's next leadership and how the US should react to China's growing power.
On the economic front, Mr Lee said he has advised US trade representatives to co-op Southeast Asian countries into its system via free trade agreements, while it still has the bigger market.
He warned that failing to do so would see these countries drifting to China, as that's where the profits are.
When asked for the top three statesmen whom he admired, Mr Lee cited Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping for turning China around after the revolution, former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and former US president Bill Clinton.
"Despite his weaknesses, Bill Clinton was a very effective leader. He was able to survive all his peccadilloes, and still present himself as a credible leader," said Mr Lee.
Closer to home, Mr Lee was asked to predict the future of ASEAN.
He said the 10 countries will be brought together by the need to bargain collectively with world powers. But the integration will be a slow process.
"It's different legacies, different systems and it takes a long time to shake off the baggage and become Southeast Asians. And even then, I think we are never quite the same. Because we have been developed in different ways, in different systems," said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee said ASEAN will have more strength if the countries bargain collectively, rather than individually, with China, US or Japan.
