Beijing, 1 April 2023 (TDI): Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong met the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on March 31, 2023.
Prime Minister Lee complimented President Xi on his re-election and the successful convening of the 14th National People’s Congress.
Both sides decided to upgrade bilateral relations to an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership” to reaffirm the excellent bilateral relations.
The enhanced partnership represents both sides’ commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation and pursuing new collaboration in digital and green economies.
Both leaders reaffirmed the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation’s importance as the annual apex bilateral cooperation platform.
That will continue to be held at the same level and frequency to guide both sides’ high-quality and future-oriented cooperation.
They agreed that their countries should work to restore pre-pandemic flight connectivity and people-to-people exchanges as they move towards post-pandemic recovery.
Also read: China Singapore agree to intensify bilateral cooperation
President Xi provided Prime Minister Lee with an update on China’s domestic objectives. While the Prime Minister of Singapore expressed his country’s readiness to strengthen commercial ties with China.
He also welcomed China’s dedication to reform and modernization efforts and praised China’s increasing involvement in ASEAN. Both parties emphasized the significance of establishing an open, peaceful, and inclusive region.
Prime Minister Lee also conferred with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
They discussed the significance of closer exchanges between both parliaments and excellent bilateral cooperation in the legal and judicial fields.
Lee Hsien Loong expressed his desire for Singapore and China to resume high-level exchanges through institutional bilateral structures. Yin Li, the Secretary of the Communist Party of China, received Prime Minister Lee and hosted him for lunch.
Prime Minister Lee and Party Secretary Yin discussed current events in Singapore and Beijing. They welcomed closer collaboration between Singapore and Beijing in areas such as people-to-people exchanges, science and technology, and commerce.
