Singapore takes long-term view in cooperation with China: Chan Chun Sing

BEIJING: Singapore takes a long-term view in its cooperation with China, and that means looking beyond the ups and downs of each country's economic development, said Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing on Wednesday (Sep 13).

Speaking to Singapore media at the end of a four-day visit to China, Mr Chan answered a question from CNA on Beijing's uncertain economic outlook, a topic that also featured in his discussions with Chinese officials.

“We should appreciate that the Chinese have their own challenges and these are complex challenges,” said Mr Chan.

“But we must never underestimate their determination to overcome these challenges. We should also never underestimate the clarity that they have, with their own challenges.”

China’s post-pandemic recovery has drawn attention, with several international financial institutions recently lowering their annual growth forecasts for this year.  

In meetings during his trip, Mr Chan said Chinese officials were “very clear” about not just immediate challenges, but also those in the months and years ahead.

When asked whether the gloomy economic outlook would affect bilateral cooperation, Mr Chan said Singapore watches China’s development with a long-term perspective. 

China is Singapore’s largest trading partner, while Singapore has been China’s largest foreign investor since 2013.

“At every stage of China's development, there will be challenges, there will also be opportunities. There'll be ups, there'll be downs,” said Mr Chan. 

Singapore, too, has its own ups and downs, he added, pointing out that the success of bilateral projects isn’t measured “in a few years”.  

“What is most important ... is to take a long-term perspective of how we build up the relationship systematically, how we engage and pursue the projects in a systematic way and making sure that we've always had a long-term goal in sight,” said Mr Chan.  

Mr Chan’s visit to China, where he also co-chaired the Singapore-China leadership forum, is his first since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Held since 2009, the forum is a bilateral platform for political office holders and senior officials to exchange experiences on leadership development challenges.

Mr Chan described the trip as a “valuable opportunity”, adding that it was important to understand China’s perspective on events at home and abroad. 

This also comes as Singapore undergoes its own leadership transition.

“We never take it for granted that people would like to continue forums like this, unless we have an in-depth understanding of their fears, concerns and aspirations and at the same time, we are able to value-add to the conversation,” said Mr Chan, who is among Singapore’s next batch of leaders.  

“It requires effort, it requires every generation of leaders on both sides, officials on both sides, to make the effort to better and deeper understand one another.” 

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Chan, who is also Education Minister, met his Chinese counterpart Huai Jinpeng.

In a Facebook post, Mr Chan said they had a good discussion on a variety of education-related issues and discussed ways to further cooperation, including through teacher and student exchanges.