SINGAPORE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A renowned Singaporean scholar on Monday called on the United States to abandon the outdated strategic mentality that belongs to the 19th century and meet challenges facing the globe by expanding cooperation with other countries.
"The zero-sum games of international relations that were played for thousands of years are no longer what the people in the 21st century want," Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore, said during an interview with Xinhua via video link.
Mahbubani said the U.S.-initiated trade war against China "has not helped American workers and consumers" and its goal of containing China's development has failed, Mahbubani said.
"The world has changed fundamentally in the 21st century, (but) the minds of the American strategic thinkers are trapped in the 19th century," Mahbubani said.
In the past, people from different countries were like living in separate boats, but as a result of globalization, people nowadays share the same boat, Mahbubani said, citing the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as compelling evidence.
"Humanity must cooperate," he said. "The one big message I have for the United States and for the Biden administration is that please don't apply the 19th century strategic thinking to the 21st century."
"Focus on our common challenges. Let's first kill COVID-19. Let's fight global warming together," he added.
Mahbubani said he believes that Asian countries should speak out against the trade war started by former U.S. President Donald Trump as it is also damaging the growth prospects of other Asian countries and the world at large.
During his over 30 years of diplomatic career, Mahbubani used to serve as Singapore's ambassador to the United Nations.
Talking about how U.S.-China relations can break the ice, Mahbubani said "the first step in developing cooperation is to develop understanding" and called for more face-to-face meetings so that the two sides can better understand each other's positions and common interests.
As to the U.S. interference in the affairs of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang, which are China's internal affairs, Mahbubani stressed that one of the basic principles in international relations should be non-interference in internal affairs of other countries.
As the United States used to condemn foreign interference in its presidential election, the country itself "also must stop interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. You cannot have a double standard," Mahbubani said.
"I would encourage Americans ... to first take care of America's own internal problems before trying to transform the world," he said. Enditem
