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S’pore, Xinjiang have much to learn from each other: PM Lee

URUMQI — There is much that Singapore and Xinjiang can learn from each other in the areas of social management and integration, and in promoting good relations between each other, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the first day of his inaugural visit to the autonomous region in the western part of China.

Mr Lee Hsien Loong meeting Urumqi Party Secretary Mr Zhu Hailun in Xinjiang yesterday. Photo: MCI

Mr Lee Hsien Loong meeting Urumqi Party Secretary Mr Zhu Hailun in Xinjiang yesterday. Photo: MCI

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URUMQI — There is much that Singapore and Xinjiang can learn from each other in the areas of social management and integration, and in promoting good relations between each other, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the first day of his inaugural visit to the autonomous region in the western part of China.

Speaking at a meeting with Urumqi Party Secretary Zhu Hailun yesterday, Mr Lee pointed out that Singapore also has a racially and religiously diverse population — like Xinjiang, which has 47 ethnic groups that practise religions like Islam and Christianity, among others — and “we live in an integrated way, harmoniously”.

He added that one of the ways to get to know each other better is through exchanges and hoped that many more Xinjiang officials will visit Singapore, as Mr Zhu did in 2005.

Earlier, the Urumqi leader said that he had learnt a lot regarding social management issues during that two-week visit. In particular, he highlighted how observing the Meet-The-People Sessions in Singapore conducted at night had inspired him to have his central government step up engagement with the people.

He added that his central government is working on plans to set up four economic development special zones in Xinjiang, involving Singapore, then Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan, to tap on the region’s abundant resources.

Mr Lee, who is seeking to understand and study potential new opportunities in China’s less-developed western areas, also visited Goldwind Science & Technology, the largest Chinese wind turbine generator manufacturer with a 19.5 per cent market share domestically.

In the morning, he toured the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum to learn about the history and culture of Xinjiang, then visited Hongshan Park, where he and Mrs Lee gamely shared a romantic moment by chaining two locks together on a fence to symbolise their enduring love.

He then had an informal chat with 50 faculty and students of Xinjiang Normal University, which has been sending staff for training programmes in Singapore in the last couple of years.

Mr Lee’s last stop of a packed day was to Tianchi, or Heavenly Lake, which covers nearly 5 sq km.

Mr Lee is on a week-long trip to China, during which he will also stop in Liaoning. He will be meeting Xinjiang Party Secretary Zhang Chunxian and Chairman Nur Bekri today before leaving for Kashgar.

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