When conversations in Singapore turn to souring geopolitics, there are some who cannot resist pointing out the upside. Of course nobody wants a new cold war, assures one former top official. But if such a situation were unavoidable, and blocs started forming more rigidly and confrontationally around a US-China split, Singapore might be better positioned than anyone to play both sides.Yet as companies and investors position themselves for what could well be a difficult 2023, little over the past 10 days has resolved the question of whether the November 14 talks between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping set some sort of floor on deteriorating relations, or whether they will continue falling dangerously as many had projected. The cold war lexicon provides easy filler for the gaps created by all this uncertainty.
在新加坡，當話題轉向日益惡化的地緣政治問題時，有些人會忍不住指出有利的一面。一位前高級官員保證道，當然，沒有人希望出現一場新的冷戰。但是，如果這種情況是不可避免的，加上圍繞美中脫鉤形成的陣營開始變得更加僵化且更具對抗性，那么新加坡可能比任何國家都更有優勢在兩個陣營之間左右逢源。