He dismissed talk of America’s decline.
“When I was a student here in the early 90s, there were already fears that Japan would overtake the US. But look what has happened since then. The US economy has remained remarkably strong and resilient,” he said.
“If, as a student in 1990, I had put US$100 in the S&P 500, I would be earning a lot of money today. If I had put that same US$100 in any other stock market anywhere else in the world, it would not have achieved the same amount of returns.”
Will the US continue to outperform the rest of the world? Mr Wong said the chances are good.
“Past performance is not a predictor of future success. But when you look at the underlying drivers of the US’ economic engine – the cutting-edge research that they have, the best universities in the world being in the US, the open society that attracts talent from everywhere around the world – I think these are all important drivers of the US’ innovation, growth and prosperity,” he said.
“For the foreseeable future, at least, I think the US will continue to have a very strong leading position. And that is why we value and appreciate the very close relationship that we have with the US across many different areas.”