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President Halimah Yacob, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan exchanged congratulatory messages with their Chinese counterparts on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries today. .
The leaders’ letters were published by the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In her letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Halimah noted that the foundations of the relationship were laid decades ago, beginning with the visits of Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping to each other’s countries in the decade. 1970. Diplomatic ties were established on October 3, 1990.
Over the past 30 years, Singapore-China relations have prospered, marked by close people-to-people ties and substantial cooperation, he wrote. The bilateral cooperation has expanded into new areas, including smart cities, finance, legal and judicial affairs, as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.
“I am encouraged that even amid the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic this year, Singapore and China have maintained close and frequent exchanges at all levels, helping each other in times of need,” he wrote, saying that They have opened up new areas of cooperation in dealing with similar challenges of economic recovery and strengthening trade and connectivity.
In his letter to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Prime Minister Lee wrote that the long-standing bilateral relationship predates the formal establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, and that bilateral cooperation has grown in depth and scope since then. He noted that China has been Singapore’s largest trading partner and Singapore has been China’s largest foreign investor since 2013, and the three government-to-government projects in China in each of the last three decades, in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing, continue to operate. good today.
He added that exchanges between people have also grown, with more than four million people traveling between the two countries in 2018, 40 times more than the 100,000 travelers in 1990. Both countries have supported each other through the Covid-19 outbreak and identified new areas of cooperation to boost the relationship, he wrote.
Prime Minister Lee added that both countries share a great interest in improving ASEAN-China relations and upholding free and open trade. “I look forward to working with you to strengthen the multilateral infrastructure that unites our world today and to take our bilateral partnership to greater heights.”
Writing to Vice Premier Han Zheng, DPM Heng said Singapore and China today enjoy a multifaceted and mutually beneficial relationship, underpinned by close cooperation in many domains.
Bilateral exchanges have been institutionalized, with the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) as the main platform, an important platform to review existing areas of cooperation and develop new areas to keep up to date. The Singapore-China Leadership Forum, the Singapore-China Social Governance Forum and eight Provincial Business Councils cover other key areas of cooperation.
DPM Heng, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Finance, said: “Through these platforms, we have also built personal relationships that further deepen our bilateral ties. My exchanges with you, including our two phone conversations in between from this year’s Covid-19 pandemic, bear witness to the growing relationship between us and between our countries. “
He looks forward to welcoming Mr. Han and his delegation to the next JCBC this year, and discussing how they can take relationships to greater heights.
Foreign Minister Balakrishnan, writing to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, said that both countries have pledged to facilitate economic recovery by advocating for cooperation in cross-border and supply chain connectivity, and have found new areas of cooperation in managing the public health and vaccine research and development. .
“Looking back at the achievements in our relationships over the short span of 30 years, I am confident that our ties will become even stronger as we embark on the next phase of our partnership,” he said.
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