Chinese premier Li Keqiang to make official visit to Singapore

DALIAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam urged greater cooperation with China and extended an invitation for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to make an official visit to Singapore.

His invitation was made during a call on Mr Li on Tuesday (June 27) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Summer Davos in Dalian. Mr Li accepted the invitation and said that he looked forward to doing so.

Conveying the Singapore people’s and leaders’ concern over those affected by the recent landslide in Sichuan province, Mr Tharman said the Republic took a long-term view of Singapore-China relations.

Bilateral ties between the two countries would be strengthened with the conclusion of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement upgrade and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which would demonstrate the countries’ joint commitment to globalisation, said the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.   

Economic cooperation on Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, which calls for massive development of trade routes in the region, would also strengthen bilateral relations.

For a start, Singapore is participating in the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, which involves building a financial support platform for regional projects and joint training for officials from countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative, said the statement.

Under the Republic’s chairmanship of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) next year, Singapore will continue to work closely together with Beijing to promote stronger relations between China and the region, as Singapore coordinates the next Asean-China Dialogue Relations.