Asked about the role of the Global South in the competition era, former Singaporean foreign minister George Yeo said that developing countries are making progress and have found their way forward.

He noted that China is an inspiration to them because China without adopting Western systems has found a way to the future. As Deng Xiaoping once said, they should feel their own way across the river stone by stone.

Yeo believes there are multiple pathways ahead for developing countries into the future, and the Western way is not the only way.