Potential trade war between China, United States would damage all economies: Singaporean finance minister

SINGAPORE - A potential trade war between China and the United States would benefit nobody but rather deal a blow to all economies, Singaporean Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said here Thursday.

It's not in anyone's interest if the trade disputes between China and the United States escalate into a trade war, the minister said at the media session of the upcoming 4th ASEAN Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Joint Meeting. The meeting is scheduled for April 5 and 6.

ASEAN member countries have shown continued strong support for free trade and would move ahead in this direction, said Heng, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year.

Singapore is monitoring the situation and it's still too early to reach a conclusion on how it will end up, according to him.

On the upcoming meeting, the minister said participants would focus on three complementary themes, namely to sustain growth, foster innovation, and boost resilience against unexpected events or deliberate attacks, such as natural disasters and cybersecurity attacks.

They would also work together towards digital innovation, and expand capacity building in new emerging areas such as big data analytics, he noted.