How will Chinas entry into the WTO affect Southeast Asia?
All Asian countries supported China’s entry, because otherwise the easy peace we have in the Pacific now would one day be threatened. China’s entry is part of the new chapter. It stabilizes the strategic situation in Southeast Asia and also creates all kinds of new opportunities for increasing trade. But China will also compete with our economies in many industries for the same investments from America, Japan, and Europe. So this ought to be a great challenge for Southeast Asia. If we are divided, compartmentalized, and unable to exploit our different strengths as one, I think we’ll lose out to China. Q: Do you agree that, despite government efforts, Singapore now lags behind Hong Kong in new industries, like the Internet? A: When it comes to the dot-com boom, you’re absolutely right. There’s much more action in Hong Kong than in Singapore. But that’s really just the financial layer. Once you go beneath that, to real industrial and technological capabilities, you’ll find Singapore some
