Singapore and China expected to reach deals to boost cooperation in annual apex meeting
Singapore and China kicked off a top-level annual meeting that resumed in-person on Tuesday for the first time since the pandemic.
The 18th edition of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) at the Four Seasons Hotel was attended by 14 Singapore representatives and 14 Chinese counterparts.
A number of agreements are expected to be reached at the apex meeting co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng.
Delivering his opening remarks at the JCBC, Heng said Han’s visit was an important milestone for the resumption of in-person engagements.
“To facilitate this, we look forward to the gradual and safe restoration of flights between our countries to pre-Covid levels when China is ready,” he said.
Heng also congratulated the Communist Party for the successful conclusion of the 20th party congress in October, which “sets out a comprehensive vision for China and showed the determination of its leaders to build China into a modern socialist economy”.
“A successful China that is well-integrated into the international system benefits China and the world,” he added.
In his opening remarks in Mandarin, Han said that despite the health, security and economic challenges over the past year, Singapore and China have maintained good relations.
“We hope that this meeting can drive cooperation between both countries to achieve new developments,” he said.
Progress on the three flagship government-to-government projects, Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-city and Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, have also been accelerated, he added.
Han, who is on a two-day trip to Singapore, is the most senior Chinese leader to visit here since the pandemic. This is also his first overseas trip since Covid-19 started.
He is expected to call on President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as well as meet Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong while in Singapore.
The last two JCBCs – which were also co-chaired by Heng and Han – were held via teleconferencing. First held in 2004, it is the highest-level forum for deepening ties between the two countries.
Singapore ministers in attendance on Tuesday included Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and Transport Minister S. Iswaran.
Other than Han, the Chinese delegation included Ding Xuedong, executive vice-secretary of the State Council, and Ni Hong from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
Also present were Singapore’s Ambassador to China Lui Tuck Yew and China’s Ambassador to Singapore Sun Haiyan.