Henry Paulson, former US Treasury secretary, warns of an “economic iron curtain” descending as rivalry between the US and China deepens. Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister, says that, as tensions flare, south-east Asian nations may be forced to choose which side to be on. The position of smaller nations caught in the middle is already uncomfortable. It will become more so if Washington and Beijing persist in imposing their own exclusive rules. Yet neither side appears willing to work towards an accommodation that is in their own interests.
美國前財長亨利?保爾森(Henry Paulson)警告稱,隨著美中之間競爭的加劇,“經濟鐵幕”正在落下。新加坡總理李顯龍(Lee Hsien Loong)稱,隨著緊張局勢升級,東南亞國家可能被迫選擇站在哪一邊。陷入兩難境地的小國已經感到不安。如果華盛頓和北京堅持實行自身的排他性規則,情況則會變得更糟。然而,雙方似乎都不愿努力達成符合他們自身利益的妥協。