SAN FRANCISCO – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says the Biden-Xi meeting this week was an important step in keeping ties between the world’s two major powers more stable, but cautions that close contact at all levels including the highest must continue, especially in view of hot-spot events in 2024.

These include elections in the United States and Asia. Taiwan – a tinderbox in the relationship between China and the US – is two months away from holding its presidential polls, on Jan 13.

“There will be issues which will arise... various hot spots (from) which there can be developments. If they are in contact, I think you have a better chance of keeping things on an even keel,” he said.

In this unpredictable world, Singapore must continue to count on its wits to make a living for itself, he added.

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping huddled for four hours on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum on Nov 15, seeking to reverse their deteriorating ties in their first in-person meeting in a year.

But while it was an important step, “I do not think China-US relations are amenable to quick fixes”, said PM Lee, sharing his assessment of the meeting during a wrap-up interview with the Singapore media on Nov 17, at the end of his six-day working visit to the US.

A key outcome of the Biden-Xi meeting was their decision to restore military lines of communication, disrupted by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August 2022.

Mr Biden and Mr Xi also agreed to address the flow of fentanyl precursors from China, which are fuelling the US opioid crisis, and they also discussed new commitments on climate change. Their mutual distrust lingers, however.

“These are deep differences in perspectives, in views and interests, in philosophies. It is also a contest for influence for a spot in the sun in the world,” said PM Lee.

The imperative for their meeting was clear, but it did not necessarily herald a return to the good old days, PM Lee added.

“They do need to work together because there are many problems which cannot be solved without both America and China participating together. And so, the two sides need to talk, in order to manage the differences, to be able to cooperate where they need to cooperate.

“The meeting was an important step in this direction,” he said.

But he cautioned: “It does not mean that things will now get better and better.”

PM Lee said: “I hope things can now begin to stabilise, and the two countries can continue to remain in close touch and at many levels.”

He noted that this would create stability, even if some tumult were to follow.

“Not everything which happens is anticipated, predictable,” he said, pointing out the probability of new situations looming.

“They have to stay in close touch with one another. There will be issues which will arise,” he said.

Besides the Taiwan election, Americans will also be heading to the polls. Mr Biden is seeking a second term and relations can quickly turn testy in view of harsh anti-China rhetoric that is frequently a part of American presidential campaigns.

China has carried out military manoeuvres in the Taiwan Strait, and many analysts in Washington claim there could be a potential invasion in the coming years of the self-governed island that Beijing seeks to unify with the mainland.

Mr Biden has signalled strong support for Taiwan, and on a few occasions said the US would defend it militarily if it were attacked, although his aides insisted there has been no change to the strategic ambiguity the US government maintains over its ties with Taipei.

Against this backdrop, the first in-person meeting in a year between Mr Biden and Mr Xi was a chance to offer assurances and prevent a dangerous escalation.

For Singapore, better vibes between its two most important partners hold promise, but the situation also means contending with uncertainties that have not ended.

“In this... open, less predictable, less multilateral environment, we have no choice but to say we continue to depend on free trade, depend on multilateralism, to work with other countries whom we can cooperate with, in order that we can make a living for ourselves,” PM Lee said.

In other words, it will be business as usual for the Republic, which must protect itself against shocks beyond its borders by doing business with multiple trading partners that may not be friendly with one another.

“That means you have got to export to America, you have got to attract investments from the US.

“You have got to do the same with China, with Asean, with India, and be partners with all of them, even though they may not all be partners with one another,” PM Lee said.

“And that is what we have been doing and that is one of the things which I have been doing on this trip here in San Francisco.”