Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Tokyo that China’s active participation in regional and global affairs is beneficial to the world and “isolating or excluding China is not good for anyone”.
Gan said in his keynote address at the 29th Future of Asia forum that China is the largest trading partner for most countries in Asia, and China’s involvement is necessary to effectively address global challenges such as climate change.
Themed “Asian Leadership in an Uncertain World”, the two-day forum attracted political, economic and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region to discuss regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.
Gan stressed the huge influence of the Chinese economy and expressed optimism about its long-term economic outlook.
“China has been a big part of Asia’s growth story,” he said, noting that over the past two decades, China’s economic growth has created new opportunities for Asia and the world.
Gan said China will continue to be the world’s major and highly competitive producer in the future.
Singapore has been working closely with China and the Suzhou Industrial Park jointly established by the two countries has become a model project that drives economic growth and industrialisation.
Going forward, Singapore will continue to deepen its cooperation with China, especially in the two key areas of digitalisation and sustainable development, Gan noted. — Xinhua
