PM Lee to hold bilateral talks with Xi during four-day visit

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will kick off a four-day trip to China on Friday (Sept 2), during which he will make a working visit to Chongqing to follow up on the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI) launched last year, and attend the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Hangzhou.

“This will be Prime Minister’s first visit to Chongqing following the launch of the third Sino-Singapore Government-to-Government project, the CCI, in November 2015,” said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday. 

In Chongqing, Mr Lee will meet Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee Sun Zhengcai, said the statement, adding that Mr Sun will host Mr Lee to dinner.

Mr Lee will also visit CapitaLand’s Raffles City Chongqing project, currently Singapore’s largest single development in China valued at 24 billion yuan (S$4.9 billion).

There are substantial economic ties between the Republic and Chongqing municipality. Bilateral trade between Singapore and Chongqing grew by 17 per cent year-on-year to reach US$2.03 billion (S$2.77 billion) in 2015. As of end-2015, Singapore was Chongqing’s third largest external investor after Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands.

Besides the CCI, the other two Government-led initiatives between Singapore and China are the Suzhou Industrial Park set up in 1994 and Tianjin Eco-city in 2008.

(Click to enlarge: Artist impression of Raffles City Chongqing. Photo: CapitaLand)

Mr Lee will be accompanied in Chongqing by his wife, Madam Ho Ching, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office / Foreign Affairs / Transport Josephine Teo, Minister of State for Communications and Information / Education Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State for Trade and Industry / National Development Koh Poh Koon, and senior officials from the PMO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Trade and Industry.  

This will be Mr Lee’s first overseas trip since being taken ill while delivering the National Day Rally on Aug 21. He was on one week medical leave on the advice of doctors.

While in Hangzhou, Mr Lee will have a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the PMO’s statement.  

“Prime Minister will participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit discussions on ways to advance global economic and financial cooperation to promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth,” the statement added.

Singapore is not a member of the G20 major economies grouping, but the Republic has been invited as a guest country almost every year since 2010.

For the Hangzhou leg, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by Madam Ho Ching, Dr Balakrishnan, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, as well as senior officials from the PMO, MFA, Ministry of Finance and Monetary Authority of Singapore.

During the Mr Lee’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will be the Acting Prime Minister, said the PMO statement.