SINGAPORE – Senior Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on March 27, with both reiterating a shared commitment to continue expanding bilateral cooperation.
Mr Liu, who is Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, is in Singapore from March 25 to 28 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. The department is in charge of cultivating and maintaining relations with foreign political parties.
PM Lee and Mr Liu expressed satisfaction that the relationship between Singapore and China had continued to strengthen, following the upgrading of bilateral ties to “all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership” in April 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.
Both sides reiterated their shared commitment to continue expanding cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investments, as well as in forward-looking sectors such as the digital and green economy.
Mr Liu also updated PM Lee on China’s current priorities.
“Prime Minister Lee and Minister Liu agreed on the importance for Singapore, China and other like-minded partners to continue working together to promote regional economic integration,” MFA said.
On March 26, Dr Balakrishnan hosted Mr Liu to dinner.
“They reaffirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations and discussed ways to further deepen and broaden the substantive cooperation between the two sides,” added the ministry.
“Against the backdrop of complex challenges facing the world, the ministers expressed confidence that Singapore and China would continue to build on the positive momentum of bilateral collaboration and unlock new growth opportunities that would contribute to the prosperity and development of our countries and the region,” said the ministry.
The ministers also exchanged views on Asean-China relations and other regional and international developments, as well as affirmed the importance of building an open, peaceful and inclusive region.
Dr Balakrishnan also welcomed China’s continued engagement of Asean, which benefited both sides, said MFA.
