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SYDNEY: China will play the role of five Japans, in 50 years.
And one main reason for this - the quality of their people.
This is according to Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who gave his views on growth prospects for the region.
He was speaking in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session, at the Citibank Legacies of Leadership forum in Sydney, which was attended by business leaders, from various industries.
It had been seven years since Minister Mentor Lee last visited Sydney.
And he has seen many changes...all of which, he said, are for the better.
In fact, Mr Lee felt that growth prospects for both Australia and Singapore are good, especially with economic powerhouses of China and India joining the picture.
"I think Australia is set and I hope Singapore is equally set, and I will be happy to tell you why I have never felt more bullish, more sanguine about the next five to 10 years than now," said Mr Lee.
But the world will have to be prepared for a different China, 15 to 20 years from now.
For example, already whatever Singapore does, China would be able to do the same, but better.
Mr Lee continued, "With every passing year they are acquiring more confidence. I'll give you an example. In the early 80s our doctors used to go there and tell them how to do this operation and that operation - now they have the best American specialists flying to their hospitals wanting to befriend them and I would say in another 15-20 years they will be coming to tell us how to improve our operations. Why do I believe this? Because of the quality of the people they have there."
In fact, when asked what he thought of the state of communism in China, Mr Lee said these days, he's not hearing talk of Maoism anymore but rather, how to invest that next trillion dollars.
On what Australia and Singapore could offer each other, he said, "First, we must share a common view of how we see the future - and the kind of world where you will prosper is the kind of world where we will prosper."
Asked if such commonality would extend to dual citizenship, the Minister Mentor said, that was a futuristic question but he would not rule it out. - CNA/yy
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