PM Lee, China President Xi to build on ‘excellent’ relationship founded by pioneer leaders
China’s President Xi Jinping, left, and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, right, applaud before a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony at the Istana or Presidential palace while on a official visit Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 in Singapore. Photo: AP
SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Xi Jinping met today (Nov 7) to review the state of Singapore-China relations, affirming their hope to expand bilateral cooperation in several areas including social governance, finance, human resource development, education, cultural and people-to-people exchanges among others.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) this evening, both leaders wanted to “build on the excellent Singapore-China relationship founded by the pioneer leaders of both sides, especially the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Deng Xiaoping”.
During the meeting, Mr Lee and Mr Xi discussed the importance of characterising the warm and close bilateral relations between their countries, said MFA. The Chinese leader is in Singapore for his first state visit, a two-day affair to commemorate the 25th anniversary of bilateral relations.
Following their meeting, both countries issued a Joint Statement on the establishment of an “All-Round Cooperative Partnership Progressing with the Times” to “define the forward-looking, innovative, and multi-faceted nature of bilateral ties”, said the MFA statement.
“Mr Lee and Mr Xi expressed satisfaction with the agreement to launch negotiations on the substantive upgrade of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA), to be completed by 2016. Once concluded, the upgraded CSFTA will further elevate bilateral economic collaboration,” said MFA. An agreement to begin negotiations to upgrade the CSFTA, together with several other agreements, was signed during a ceremony witnessed by both leaders in the afternoon.
Both leaders also endorsed the launch of the third Government-to-Government project in Chongqing, with the name “China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity” - a priority demonstration project for China’s “One Belt One Road” initiative, the Western Region Development and Yangtze River Economic Belt strategies, said the statement.
First proposed by China in 2013, the third G-to-G project will focus on “strategic connectivity”, and in particular, four sectors of collaboration – financial services; aviation; transport & logistics; and information & communications technology (ICT). This follows the existing G-to-G projects of Suzhou Industrial Park set up in 1994, and Tianjin Eco City in 2008.
During the meeting, Mr Lee expressed confidence in the long-term outlook for China’s economy. On financial cooperation, both leaders agreed that Renminbi (RMB) cooperation has been a highlight in bilateral relations, with great potential to grow further. Mr Lee proposed expanding cooperation in capital markets, particularly in stock and derivatives linkages and mutual recognition of fund products, said MFA.
The Singapore Prime Minister also expressed strong support for the inclusion of the RMB in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket, reflecting the RMB’s growing use as an international currency, said MFA.
“Mr Lee noted that as China continues to modernise its financial system, it will face complex challenges, but he expressed confidence that China has the right regulatory leadership and expertise to keep the financial system and capital markets stable and healthy, so as to support China’s economy, said the statement.
Mr Xi also invited Singapore to participate in the G20 Meetings and G20 Summit to be held in China in 2016 and Mr Lee has accepted the invitation.
The MFA statement added that the two leaders had discussed cross-strait relations. Mr Xi thanked Singapore for facilitating the meeting between the two leaders from across the Taiwan Strait on Saturday afternoon. Mr Xi met Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou this afternoon at the sidelines of his state visit - the first time both parties have met following their split after a civil war in 1949.
“Singapore has consistently upheld a ‘One China’ policy and supported initiatives that contribute to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, including direct exchanges between the two sides such as the historic Wang-Koo (Wang Daohan and Koo Chen-fu) talks held in Singapore in 1993 and the meeting on Saturday between Mr Xi and Mr Ma,” noted MFA.
Mr Xi and Madam Peng Liyuan were hosted to a private lunch by Mr Lee and Mrs Lee at the Singapore Botanic Gardens where an orchid hybrid “Papilionanda” was named in their honour. Mr Xi and Madam Peng will depart for Beijing this evening.
Reflecting on Mr Xi’s visit, Mr Lee posted in Facebook on Saturday evening that he had a “fruitful meeting” with the Chinese President. “Singapore enjoys warm and substantial ties with China, and President Xi’s visit has further deepened the relationship,” he said.
“China’s dramatic progress is positive for the region and the world. We are happy that Singapore provided the venue for President Xi’s meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou from Taiwan. We will continue to build on what we’ve achieved since we established diplomatic relations 25 years ago, to take our bilateral relations further forward,” added Mr Lee.
