A US-China trade war will hurt ties in many other areas

Boao, Hainan

IT IS in China's fundamental interest to continue to contribute to strengthening multilateralism at this testing moment when it seems to be on the brink of a trade war with the US, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

This is because if trade tensions erupt into a full scale trade war it could damage US-China ties in many areas and cause catastrophic consequences for the world, said Mr Lee on Tuesday at the Boao Forum for Asia, an annual meeting of top executives and leaders.