[BEIJING] Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and China is especially valuable, given the increasingly uncertain and troubled global environment, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday (Nov 26).
Tensions between major powers have intensified, and countries are emphasising national security and supply chain resilience, instead of economic integration and international multilateral cooperation, he said.
“And it makes it all the more important in such an environment for like-minded countries, big ones as well as small ones, to work together to develop our cooperation to the best of our ability for the benefit of our peoples.”
SM Lee is on a six-day official visit to China. He is visiting the country for the first time in his new capacity as a senior minister, after stepping down as prime minister in May. In his 20 years as Singapore’s prime minister, he visited China 14 times, making him one of the most frequent visiting foreign leaders.
On Nov 26, SM Lee met Xi at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Both chatted as they walked, with SM Lee saying that he took the high-speed rail from Suzhou to Beijing, which took four hours.
“Very comfortable and very convenient,” SM Lee said in Mandarin to a smiling Xi as they took their seats across from each other.
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Xi said he was happy to see SM Lee again. “In any case, we used to meet often in the past,” the president said.
The Chinese leader also welcomed SM Lee in his new role as senior minister.
“Internationally and in Asia, you are considered a veteran politician,” said Xi.
Whether it is the achievements that Singapore has made or in promoting international or regional cooperation, SM Lee has made important contributions, Xi added.
Xi congratulated SM Lee on the successful transition of power in the Singapore leadership in May.
“You are the Chinese people’s old friend, a good friend, and you have had a long-term interest in and support for China-Singapore cooperation,” said Xi, who hosted SM Lee to dinner on Tuesday.
SM Lee started his China visit in Suzhou in Jiangsu province, where he officiated commemorative events to mark the 30th anniversary of the government-to-government flagship project Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP).
It came shortly after his working visit to Boston and New York in the US, which had just sewn up a presidential election in which Donald Trump was re-elected.
Xi said on Nov 26 that the joint governmental project has set a benchmark for the cooperation of the two countries, and is “also a testimony to Singapore’s deep involvement in China’s reform and opening up”.
While Singapore and China have elevated their bilateral relationship in 2023, and as the two countries mark 35 years of diplomatic ties in 2025, both sides should deepen their cooperation and make new and greater contributions to regional peace and prosperity, said Xi.
In turn, SM Lee said he was happy to be back in China, and noted that Xi had met Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima, Peru.
Taking stock of his visit to Suzhou on Monday, SM Lee said he was proud to see the park thriving and prospering, and “to know that it has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations”.
SM Lee said he was also very glad that “SIP has played a valuable role in China’s economic development and transformation, and continues to do so today”.
In a light-hearted moment, he said that while the industrial park has modernised over the decades and that its gross domestic product has gone up 10 times, there remains one traditional product that continues to be exported from the land.
“I saw a sign for it at the restaurant at the hotel yesterday, and it says, ‘Yangcheng Lake hairy crab’,” he said, to laughs from Xi and his colleagues.
Yangcheng Lake, located in the northern part of the industrial park, is known for the prized delicacy.
The last time SM Lee and Xi met was when the former visited China in March 2023. He had made a stop in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and delivered a speech at the Bo’ao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan province. SM Lee then called on Xi and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, and both countries upgraded their relationship to one that is described as an “all-round, high-quality, future-oriented partnership”.
That trip was also seen as an opportunity for SM Lee to let the Chinese leaders know that Wong would soon take over as prime minister.
PM Wong, then still deputy prime minister and finance minister, soon made an official trip in May 2023, when he met Li, first-ranked Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, Finance Minister Liu Kun and Minister Li Ganjie, the head of the Communist Party of China’s powerful Central Organisation Department, which controls party personnel appointments.
While PM Wong has yet to make an official visit to China since taking over as prime minister, he recently met Xi on the sidelines of the Apec meeting in Lima, Peru. Both leaders had discussed cooperation in the green and digital economies, as well as regional and international developments.
On Nov 26, SM Lee also met Wang Huning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Wang is chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body. Wang is ranked fourth out of seven in the apex decision-making Politburo Standing Committee.
Wang noted that SM Lee has visited China many times and has had close interactions with the Chinese leaders. China is confident that SM Lee will continue to play an important role as senior minister in promoting bilateral ties, Wang said.
“You have said that Singapore-China cooperation, which is in line with the priorities of each country and the needs of its people, should evolve with the times. We very much agree,” said Wang.
As the two countries mark 35 years of formal bilateral relations in 2025, and as Singapore celebrates its 60th birthday, China is willing to deepen cooperation with Singapore in all areas and bring prosperity to the region, he said.
SM Lee described relations as being in “very good shape”, and that he looked forward to “catching up with old friends and to learn about recent developments in China”.
He said that both countries have good people-to-people ties, noting a 30-day mutual visa exemption that was introduced in February 2024. There have been high-level exchanges as well, with PM Wong meeting Xi on the sidelines of the Apec meeting and Li at the Asean summit.
SM Lee will end his visit in Shanghai, where he will meet and be hosted to lunch by Shanghai party chief Chen Jining, and attend a reception for overseas Singaporeans.
SM Lee is accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Education Minister and Minister-in-charge of the SIP Chan Chun Sing. Also in the delegation are Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling. THE STRAITS TIMES
