Apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a Singaporean think tank, found that 94% of pundits in the city-state think the U.S-China trade war has hurt the country — the highest ratio among the 10 ASEAN members. Alan Chong, an associate professor at NTU, said the city-state has leaned a bit more toward China economically in recent years, despite keeping its distance on foreign policy.