The US and China could slide into conflict if they don't interact with each other and defuse growing tensions over Taiwan, said Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong in an interview with Bloomberg.

Relations between the world's largest economies are on a very worrying trajectory following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and China's subsequent military exercises around Taiwan, he said.

Wong expressed concern about a potential incident in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea, citing a 2001 incident in which a US spy plane crash-landed on China's southern island of Hainan after colliding with a Chinese aircraft. Beijing eventually released the crew after the US expressed its regret.

Wong said the international community is entering a new world order in which trade, economics and finance are used as tools of geopolitical rivalry.