Singapore, China boost bilateral ties
Singapore and China agreed to strengthen cooperation to boost their relations.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean meets China's Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli (Photo: The Straits Times)
Beijing (VNA) – Singapore and China agreed to strengthen
cooperation to boost their relations.
The announcement was made at a meeting between visiting Singaporean
Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Teo Chee Hean and his Chinese counterpart Zhang Gaoli
on February 27.
China is willing to cooperate with Singapore to implement agreements
reached by the two countries’ leaders, said Zhang.
He noted that both sides established a comprehensive cooperative partnership
during a visit to Singapore of China’s President Xi Jinping in November 2015,
adding that the two countries agreed to implement follow-ups in bilateral
development after meetings in 2016.
The Chinese official also called on Singapore and China to deepen
political trust and strengthen coordination.
For his part, Singaporean Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean spoke highly of three
major cooperation projects between the two countries, including the Suzhou
Industrial Park, the Tianjin Eco-city and the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, saying that Singapore
is willing to work with China in infrastructure, financial and mutual training
programmes.
Both sides’ leaders also co-chaired four
high-level meetings, including the 13th meeting of the Joint Council for Singapore- China
Bilateral Cooperation, which is a high-level platform aiming to deepen and
broaden the bilateral relationship
The two officials witnessed the signing of
cooperation agreements on science – technology, intelligence property,
telecommunication and culture.
Since 2013, Singapore has been the biggest foreign investor in China
with investment of 8.7 billion SGD (about 6.2 billion USD) in 2015. China was also
the largest trade partner of the Southeast Asian country with two-way trade hitting
117.2 billion SGD (about 83.7 billion USD). -VNA