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Singapore hopes US, China can resolve trade disputes ‘speedily’

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Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said Singapore hopes the US and China will be able to resolve their trade disputes "speedily" and in a way that can benefit everyone.

"We think that a trade war - tit for tat - is not going to help any side," he told Singapore media at the end of a visit to China.

On such trade issues, Singapore takes a position based on principles, Mr Teo stressed.

"When we say we are for multilateral trade arrangements and free trade, and we support those and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), it is not because we support one country or another," he said yesterday, in reply to a question on whether the issue of the China-US trade conflict was discussed at his meetings with Chinese leaders in Beijing.

China and other nations want to use multilateral platforms like the WTO to settle differences over trade.

Singapore's principled position stems from its belief that this is a better way of organising the world and can bring prosperity in the long run to all countries, Mr Teo said.

When Singapore says countries should follow international law, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for right of passage for ships and aircraft, it does so "as a matter of principle".

Despite anxieties over a trade war, Singapore is "pressing on" with its free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with other countries.

With China, talks on the upgrade of the China-Singapore FTA are ongoing and Singapore hopes to conclude negotiations this year. Singapore is also pursuing an FTA with the European Union.

"...These are all the signals we are sending that we support free trade, rules-based trade, multilateral trade, and we believe this is the best way in which we can foster prosperity for all countries in the world," said Mr Teo.

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