It's two more days before (wait for it) Donald John Trump will be sworn in as the next President of the United States of America.

In a speech in Hong Kong last Saturday (14 Jan), former foreign minister George Yeo discussed about US-China relations against the backdrop of an unpredictable Trump administration. He spoke about taking Trump seriously, the strength of China President Xi Jinping's leadership and also the potential conflict between the two great powers.

Here are three takeaways based on his remarks given at the Harvard Business School Association of Hong Kong conference.

1. Trump is not stupid

In Yeo's view, to think Trump is stupid "would be a serious miscalculation".

For him, Trump's remarkable achievement was not in defeating ex Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but defeating a whole line of "pretty credible" Republican candidates. He was able to plumb deep and tap upon a deep undertow of dissatisfaction and disaffection in the US.

Describing Trump as a person with "deep instincts", and someone who wants to reinvigorate American society that has been inundated with problems, Yeo made the point that it is important to read the deeper intentions behind Trump's remarks in the open.

"It’s important to get past the common criticisms against Mr Trump, quoting him against him, laughing at some of his inanities, and ignoring his deep purposes. I think it’s much more important to look at his deep purposes because he’s not a man to be disregarded."

2. US politics plays to the gallery

Trump's cabinet appointments are now going through the Senate approval process. However, there have been some instances of his Cabinet picks contradicting his policy positions.

As what Yeo says, "that’s American politics".

"He has assembled an impressive group of people to help him. And right now they speak with divergent voices because they’ve got to clear US Senate approval and everyone has to play to the gallery."

"So you get remarkable comments like that made by (Secretary of State nominee) Rex Tillerson that the US should prevent China from accessing what China takes to be her islands in the South China Sea -- which must lead to war. I don’t think he’s that ignorant, or that unreasonable."

3. US-China conflict is not inevitable

Yeo thinks that the Chinese are very serious about building a new pattern of big power relations, but it has been not been taken seriously by many commentators.

To him, "the problem is a lack of understanding about the nature of Chinese civilisation."

This is what Yeo says about China and it's inclination to not harmonise fully with the world:

"This is a civilisation which has deep instincts of its own past and of its own nature. And because of that, China will never harmonise with the rest of the world. Whether we’re talking about cyber space, cultural policy or capital markets, China will never harmonise with the rest of the world."

"Yes, there will be normal traffic, but there’s always a semi-permeable membrane, which ensures that what is good gets in, and what is considered subversive cannot get in. And because it cannot harmonise with the rest of the world, for that is in the nature of the Chinese civilisation, a large part of the US’ worry about China is not justified."

He questioned if the West really want China to be a proselytising power, a missionary power. If so, China is going to purvey a different set of values and that is what will lead to an "inevitable clash."

"The Chinese view is that you can be an Islamic theocracy, you can be a Sultan, you can be Salafi, that’s your problem so long as you don’t hurt me. If you hurt me, I may have to hurt you. But I have enough problems looking after my own family. How can I interfere in your family’s matters? I got enough headaches of my own."

"So they take a very detached approach to the internal policies of other countries. "

You can also check out this interesting sketch from the event organised by Harvard Business School Association of Hong Kong:

Top photo from George Yeo's facebook

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