I entered politics because I saw it as a continuation of public service. And I have over the years found my calling in public service. It was not the… - Lawrence Wong

I would say that we have come a long way as a country these last 60 years. We have fought incredible odds; we have defied incredible odds to achieve this miracle called Singapore. It is a transformation beyond anyone's imagination. Now, we are in a new phase of Singapore's development. But in fact, the best chapters of the Singapore Story are yet to be written.

China certainly looks at the US as trying to contain, encircle, and suppress them, and trying to deny them their rightful place in the world. It is not just the leadership who thinks like that. I think if you talk to a lot of the Chinese officials, they feel the same way, they feel that there is this containment to put China down. There is that sense and for every action, there will be an opposite reaction. And so China you will see, trying to find ways to get out of that containment; to make sure they become technologically self-reliant. At the same time, China has been through phases of their development where they talk about standing up, getting rich and now being strong. They see themselves as a strong country, their time has come and they want to be more assertive in their national interest, including their national interest overseas. But there too, China will have to learn – as all big countries do – that if they overdo it, if they push their way around, coerce, squeeze or pressurise other countries, it will engender a backlash – including in the region. That is why they cannot go too far, and they will have to learn that lesson – it is a lesson that all big countries go through.

We will strengthen our partnerships, near and far; and advance Singapore's interests, so as to better shape outcomes for ourselves as well as the world.