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US bill proposed to add Taiwan to ‘NATO Plus’ group of states 25-Mar-2021 Intellasia | FocusTaiwan
Kusu News 19-Mar-2021
Chan Chun Sing touts Singapore's 'progressive environment' in pitch to Japanese business leaders
16-Mar-2021 The Business Times
SINGAPORE offers businesses "a progressive environment" for capital, talent and intellectual property, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Tuesday, as he rubbished what he called "beggar-thy-neighbour policies" in global trade.
Reiterating a point that he made at a conference last month, he warned against fiscally-strained governments competing for tax revenue with policies "that further distort investment and commercial decisions" related to manufacturing sites and supply chains.
"Worse, it may destabilise the global financial system if economies undertake irresponsible and unsustainable monetary or exchange rate policies," he added.
This was even as he argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated trends such as protectionist tendencies towards supply chains, "just when the opposite - open and connected trade - is more important than ever before".
US-China relations: Beyond the 'Cold War' cliche
17-Mar--2021 BBC
The meeting between senior Biden administration officials and their Chinese counterparts marks the first face-to-face opportunity to gauge the dynamics of the relationship between the two most important global powers.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Alaska on Thursday.
There are no illusions in the Biden team. Ahead of the meeting Mr Blinken noted this was "not a strategic dialogue" and there was "no intent at this point for a series of follow-on engagements".
"These engagements," he noted, "if they are to follow, really have to be based on the proposition that we're seeing tangible progress and tangible outcomes on the issues of concern to us with China."
Relations between the US and China are the worst they have been for many years and look set to become worse still.
Businesses can tap Singapore for regional growth in post-Covid-19 rebound: EDB exec
16-Mar-2021 The Business Times
BEING a node for regional supply chains is one role for Singapore to stay relevant to multinationals in the post-pandemic economy, Economic Development Board (EDB) executive vice-president Lim Kok Kiang said on Tuesday.
Mr Lim, who oversees international operations and advanced manufacturing strategies for the EDB, added that the Republic can also position itself as a source of innovation, and as a launchpad for firms "leveraging Singapore to go into the region".
Speaking at a business panel on growing from Singapore during the pandemic, he cited the "enormous opportunity" in Asean, when asked how Singapore can stack up as production bases expand in neighbouring markets.
"It actually makes sense for… Singapore to grow in tandem with South-east Asia," he said, noting that operational competitiveness in Singapore could be enhanced by efforts such as capability-building, even as projects such as the South-east Asia Manufacturing Alliance, launched in February, enable companies to expand both here and regionally.
