Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Singaporean Acting President Eddie Teo and business leaders from the two countries on Sunday, and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Saturday during his two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation. The two countries signed multiple cooperation documents in areas such as the digital economy, green development, information and communication, transportation, food safety, emergency management and third-party cooperation.
In a meeting with Singapore’s Acting President Eddie Teo on Sunday, the second day of his official visit to the country, Li said that China is ready to work with Singapore to tap the potential of economic and trade cooperation and expand collaboration in emerging areas such as the digital economy, green development and artificial intelligence, injecting more momentum into each other’s modernization processes, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
At the invitation of Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, the Chinese Premier made an official visit to Singapore on October 25 and 26, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Li’s visit comes as China and Singapore mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. It is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Singapore in seven years, and the first visit by a Chinese premier since Wong assumed office as Singapore’s prime minister.
The visit not only reaffirms the tradition of political mutual trust and friendly cooperation between China and Singapore, but also heralds a new phase in bilateral relations, transitioning from one of “mature partnership” to “forward-looking co-creation,” Fan Lei, head of the Institute of Public Diplomacy at Shandong Youth University of Political Science, told the Global Times.
The timing is particularly significant and carries profound symbolism. It serves as a reciprocal visit following Prime Minister Wong’s trip to China earlier this year and signifies that China-Singapore relations, driven by the leaders of both countries, have entered a new stage of comprehensive, high-quality cooperation, Fan said.
Premier Li’s visit to Singapore marks another significant milestone in the development of China-Singapore relations, demonstrating the exemplary power of cooperation between countries regardless of their size, according to Fan.
On Sunday, Li attended a China-Singapore Business Forum in Singapore with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong of Singapore, Xinhua reported.
Li emphasized that not long ago, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China reviewed and approved the proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), outlining the strategic blueprint for China’s development over the next five years. With a solid foundation for stable economic performance, China’s growth rate ranks among the top of the world’s major economies.
The flow of factors such as people, goods, information and capital remain active, and new growth drivers continue to gain strength, which will provide businesses with broader market opportunities, Premier Li said.
China will steadfastly advance high-standard opening up, further ease market access, continuously improve the business environment, ensure equal treatment for both domestic and foreign enterprises, actively address their legitimate concerns and support Chinese and Singaporean companies in achieving greater development, Li said while attending the event, per Xinhua.
China is poised to embark on reforms and development during the 15th Five-Year Plan. High-quality development at this stage cannot be achieved without institutional openness, which in turn requires deepened cooperation with ASEAN countries, including Singapore, Ge Hongliang, vice dean of the ASEAN College at Guangxi Minzu University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
On Saturday, Li met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Li noted that China is willing to strengthen development alignment with Singapore, make full use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, maintain the sound momentum of two-way trade and investment growth, further enhance and expand key cooperative projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Eco-City, deepen cooperation in areas such as digital economy, green economy, artificial intelligence, new energy and biomedicine, and actively explore third-party cooperation.
Wong said that Singapore is fully confident in China’s development and is willing to continue investing in China, Xinhua reported.
Judging from the current cooperation programs between China and Singapore, Fan said that the economic and trade relations between China and Singapore have shifted from “quantitative expansion” to “qualitative upgrading.”
Ge said that the China-Singapore relationship has the vitality and foresight to keep pace with the times and continuously expand the breadth and depth of cooperation.
Ge elaborated that both the international and regional landscapes are undergoing profound transformations. After years of development, ASEAN has achieved remarkable accomplishments, yet it faces numerous practical challenges, such as imbalanced development among member states, harnessing opportunities presented by the new wave of technological revolution and sustainable development and addressing the multiple political and economic pressures stemming from changes in the external environment.
Particularly against the backdrop of shifting global trade patterns and new policies like tariffs, countries share similar perceptions and challenges. Singapore has repeatedly emphasized its deep understanding of the international order and the economic and trade environment, which presents a new opportunity for China and Singapore to enhance strategic communication and jointly shape regional development concepts, Ge said.
