(Bloomberg) — Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned against a financial decoupling from China, and called for continuing dialog with the world’s second-largest economy in his address to the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Thursday.
His remarks show the intense focus on China-U.S. ties at the forum, which started Wednesday with a pledge by Vice President Wang Qishan to continue to open the economy and saw U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo criticize China’s trade practices. Many in the U.S. see Beijing as “a serious problem” while many Chinese believe Americans want to “stop their emergence,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview.
Today has seen Mastercard Inc. address reports of a new partnership with Amazon.com Inc., Bill Gates speak on the lessons of the pandemic, and HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn discuss business prospects. Other speakers include top executives from Bayer AG and Cargill, and the chairman of property developer China Vanke, with panels on everything from health and climate change to the threat from fake news.
Mastercard to Build Amazon Links (9:50 a.m. H.K.)
Mastercard Inc. will continue to develop its relationship with Amazon, vice chairman and president of strategic growth Michael Froman said in a television interview at the forum.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Amazon may shift its popular co-brand credit card to Mastercard amid simmering tensions with Visa Inc., a feud that already prompted the retailer to ban the cards in the U.K. starting next year.
“We’ve had a long-standing, good relationship with Amazon,” Froman said. “I’ve nothing to comment on the particular conversations going on right now.”
Paulson Urges Yellen to Maintain China Dialogue (8:55 a.m. H.K.)
The U.S. and Chinese economies need mechanisms to avoid even a partial decoupling that would lead to a crisis, Paulson said, adding the world is headed for a “very dangerous place” if Washington and Beijing are unable to stabilize their relationship.
“Wholesale financial decoupling is impossible, and partial decoupling is likely to make the United States, China and the world more susceptible to financial crises,” he said.
“We need my friend and successor, Secretary Janet Yellen, to continue her communication with Vice Premier Liu He aimed toward transparency, greater harmonization, and coordination of financial regulations and accounting principles.”
Singapore Says Taiwan Bid Complicated (8:20 a.m. H.K.)
Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, would be welcomed in the same way as any economy’s that is willing to meet standards, but there are clearly political complications, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the forum.
China claims that the democratic, self-governing island is part of its territory.
Singapore’s Lee Warns of War Risks in Taiwan (8 a.m. H.K.)
Tensions over Taiwan risk leading to a miscalculation between the U.S. and China as both nations step up activity around the island, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said late Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.
“We should be concerned,” Lee said. “I don’t think it’s going to war overnight, but it is in a situation where you can have a mishap or a miscalculation and be in a very delicate situation.”
Track the Bloomberg New Economy Forum (7:30 a.m. H.K.)
Today’s forum started at 8:30 a.m. Singapore (7:30 p.m. New York), and speeches and panels are broadcast live. You can sign up for our New Economy Daily newsletter here. The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
Other highlights of Wednesday’s presentations and interviews include Sundar Pichai, the CEO of both Google and its parent Alphabet Inc., who said he expects search and artificial intelligence to drive the company’s next trillion dollars in market value.
UBS Group Chairman Axel Weber said he’s skeptical about cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin hit record highs recently. And Sebastien Bazin, CEO of European hotel operator Accor, proclaimed: “business is back, much stronger than expected, people are eager to travel.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
