Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Sept 9. - ST
BEIJING: The excellent relations between Singapore and China is a “bright spot” in a less predictable and more volatile world, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on (Sept 9).
In a bilateral meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Dr Balakrishnan said that the upgrading of the relationship in 2023 reflected “the unique, the longstanding and the very close ties between our two countries”.
He noted in his opening remarks that 2025 will mark the 35th anniversary since diplomatic ties were established, and acknowledged Wang’s earlier remarks that Singapore “successfully completed a leadership transition” in May 2024.
Lawrence Wong was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 15 after Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong stepped down following two decades in office.
Dr Balakrishnan said: “PM Lawrence Wong is committed – and I send you his greetings – to enhancing and deepening our relationship with China.”
Singapore and China upgraded ties to an “all round, high-quality, future-oriented partnership” in April 2023, when then PM Lee Hsien Loong met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Dr Balakrishnan is on a two-day official trip to Beijing, accompanied by Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sim Ann and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Items in his agenda include strengthening economic cooperation and discussing potential commemorative activities for the 35th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in 2025. He last visited China in February 2023.
At the Sept 9 meeting, Dr Balakrishnan said that Singapore is looking forward to the visit by China’s Executive Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang to co-chair the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) – the annual apex meeting between the two countries – in Singapore later in 2024.
“This will be the 20th JCBC, it’s also a very significant occasion to commemorate, and for us to look at not just the past projects we’ve done together, but for new and emerging areas,” he said.
Wang, who in his opening remarks earlier welcomed Dr Balakrishnan as an “old friend”, said that the “current international situation is volatile, and our region is also faced with some causes of instability”.
“So China and Singapore, as two forces for stability, need to constantly strengthen our strategic coordination and communication.”
Singapore was one of the first countries to participate in and deeply integrate with China’s reform and opening up process, he noted.
“We are willing to further strengthen the alignment of our respective development strategies with Singapore, and truly implement our new positioning of the relationship as an all-round, high-quality, future-oriented partnership.” - The Straits Times/ANN
