China and the United States can avoid greater conflict that would upset the present world order, according to Henry Kissinger on Tuesday (Nov. 6).

The 95-year-old American former Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon is perhaps best-known for brokering Washington's rapprochement with Beijing in 1971.

Kissinger was speaking at the New Economy Forum held at Sentosa's Capella Hotel in Singapore.

Organised by Bloomberg Media Group, the inaugural two-day event that was said to provide an alternative to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, ended on Wednesday (Nov. 7).

The discussions largely focused on China.

Its ongoing trade war with the US was a prominent issue that remained at top of the minds of the roughly 400 business and government leaders in attendance.

In his 20-minute interview with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, the veteran diplomat had some advice for the respective leaders of both major powers.

Not unusual for a rising China to butt heads with the US

Kissinger said that as China has become a "new player that can compete with the United States in various fields", they are "bound to step on each other's toes".

He added that the differences between them make working together a challenge:

"The challenge is to maintain a fundamentally cooperative relationship amidst inherent differences of approach produced in large part by the changing technology, and in some part, due to the different philosophic approaches."

Communication is key

As for what both countries can do to maintain this partnership, Kissinger said they must be clear on what they want to achieve, and communicate their thinking to each other clearly:

"I believe that it is essential for China and the United States to explain to each other what the objectives are that they feel they must achieve, and what (are) the concessions that they must not be asked to make, and the concessions that each is wiling to make.

And not to get lost in a lack of detail before you know where you're trying to go."

What the Chinese should know

Kissinger said the Chinese will have to learn how to navigate the current world order that is fairly new to them:

"The Chinese have not had to experience a relationship of balance with others. Most of their history, they are the dominant country in the region.

It's one of the challenges of their assessment to recognise that this is not the balance of power, but to recognise that the evolution cannot be forced, and needs to be understood.

I think both sides have to learn adaptations of their history."

He added that when it comes to resolving problems, the Chinese should not be hindered by its view that "problems are never completely solved, that every solution is an admissions ticket to a new set of problems."

What the Americans should know

As for the US, he said that Americans have to learn that "not every crisis is caused by ill will":

"There is a difference between educating people and learning to cooperate with them. Not every disagreement is a lack of understanding that we need.

We need to understand that the new world is not necessarily an adaptation of everything with which we are familiar."

He added that Americans have to stop thinking that there is a "short-term solution" for every problem and that they could just "deal with it" quickly.

Optimist at heart?

Despite taking stock of the difficulties involved in resolving the outstanding issues between both countries, Kissinger remains consistent with his largely optimistic views over the years regarding Sino-US relations.

In fact, he believes that both countries will work it out:

"The difference, introspectively, I think, if the world order becomes defined by continuous conflict between the United Sates and China, sooner or later, it runs the risk of getting out of control, which was the history of WWI that broke out in Europe.

And so, some disagreements are inevitable, but the objective needs to be for both countries to recognise that the fundamental conflict between them will destroy hopes for a world order, and run greater risk of conflict.

I think that objective can be achieved.

I'm, in fact, fairly optimistic that it will be achieved."

However, when asked by Micklethwait if he is "fundamentally an optimist", Kissinger said that he is "trying to be a realist".

High incentive to avoid war now as compared to the past

Micklethwait asked if Kissinger thought there was a group of people in the US who do not want to see China become the "world's biggest economy", much like how some people in Britain thought of Germany at the end of the 19th century.

Kissinger replied: "Probably".

But he also said there is greater incentive now to avoid escalating the conflict to a military one:

"But at the end of the 19th century, nobody understood the consequences on war of modern technology.

And none of the leaders who went to war in August 1914 would have done so if they had known what the world would look like in 1918.

We know what the world would look like if America and China are in military conflict.

So the incentive to understand that our world requires...

When the leaders of both countries examine their options, my view will come to the conclusion that they will have to find a way to resolve these issues jointly."

In addition, Kissinger quoted the renowned German philosopher Immanuel Kant who said "someday, the world will achieve universal peace; the only challenge is whether it will come about through understanding or through catastrophe".

He added that both countries now have "high incentives to avoid catastrophe".

You can watch the full interview here:

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Met PM Lee, other Ministers

While in Singapore, Kissinger took the opportunity to meet with some of our Ministers.

Kissinger lunched together with PM Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (Nov. 5).

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and DPM Teo Chee Hean also took the opportunity to speak to him.

Top image via Bloomberg

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