Lee Kuan Yew: Singapore well-placed to ride on China's growth - 28Nov2012

Показать описание

SINGAPORE: Singapore's former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said that the country is well-placed to ride on China's growth.

And while Singaporeans have a distinct advantage given their ability to read, write and speak both English and Mandarin, it does not mean they fully understand the Chinese culture.

Speaking at the Business China Awards on Wednesday night, Mr Lee said no two countries share the same culture.

He cited his own experience in learning from his foray into Suzhou and Tianjin.

Mr Lee said Singaporeans are westernised but the Chinese are not, but by being bicultural, Singapore, he noted, can reach deeper inside China to understand its growth story.

Mr Lee said: "For us we follow the rule of law. For them, an agreement is the beginning of a long friendship in which we make adjustments as we go along.

"Considering what is fair, and that makes for a misunderstanding at the beginning but we soon adjusted and we realise that in China, we do business the Chinese way which means we sign an agreement and it's the beginning of a long friendship."

Mr Lee added that as a result of China's expansion, there will be a greater demand for bilingual and bicultural talents.

He said Business China's definitive role as an accelerator for grooming the bilingual and bicultural of Singaporeans will serve as a catalytic platform to meet this demand.

Business China was launched in November 2007 by then Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Its mission is to nurture bilingual and bi-cultural Singaporeans to develop a cultural and economic bridge with China.

The annual Business China Awards recognises outstanding businessmen and organisations for their contributions in strengthening Singapore-China relations.

This year's winners are Professor Arthur Lim Siew Ming, founding medical director at the Singapore National Eye Centre (who won the Business China Excellence Award), CapitaLand Group (which won the Business China Enterprise Award), and Dr Loh Cheng, residency training coordinator at Kunming's Medical University 2nd Affiliated Hospital (who won the Business China Young Achiever Award).