Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited Beijing and Shanghai from 28 May – 3 June. He met Politburo Standing Committee member and Executive Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Minister of Finance Lou Jiwei. DPM Tharman also jointly officiated at the opening of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Representative Office in Beijing with People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan.
PRC Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi visited Singapore from 2 – 3 May as part of his first overseas visit as Minister of Foreign Affairs, during which he met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam.
Anhui Party Secretary Zhang Baoshun made an official visit to Singapore from 25 – 27 April, during which he met Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Guangdong from 2 – 4 April, during which he met Guangdong Party Secretary Hu Chunhua, Guangzhou Party Secretary Wan Qingliang and Shenzhen Party Secretary Wang Rong. He also attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan from 4 – 8 April and met President Xi Jinping and former Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan.
2012
Politburo Standing Committee Member Zhou Yongkang visited Singapore from 21 – 22 September and met President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. He also delivered the keynote address for the inaugural Singapore-China Forum on Social Management, together with Deputy Prime Minister Teo.
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Tianjin and Anhui from 10 – 15 September, during which he met Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2012 in Tianjin, and Anhui Party Secretary Zhang Baoshun in Hefei.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made an official visit to Beijing, Tianjin, and Chengdu (Sichuan) from 2 – 7 September and met President Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, Vice Premier Li Keqiang, Tianjin Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli, and Sichuan Party Secretary Liu Qibao.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean made an official visit to Beijing and Suzhou (Jiangsu) from 4 – 6 July to co-chair the 9th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, the 14th Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council (JSC), and the 5th Tianjin Eco-city JSC meetings with Vice Premier Wang Qishan. During his visit, Deputy Prime Minister Teo met Vice Premier Li Keqiang, Defence Minister Liang Guanglie, State Councillor Dai Bingguo, Tianjin Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli, Jiangsu Party Secretary Luo Zhijun and Minister of the Communist Party of China International Department Wang Jiarui.
Guangdong Party Secretary Wang Yang made an official visit to Singapore from 3 – 5 June and met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. He was also hosted to meals by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Swee Say and Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi made an official visit to Singapore from 28 – 29 May and met President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. He also met and was hosted to dinner by Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam.
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Tianjin from 9 – 12 May to attend the 30th Annual Plenary Meeting of the InterAction Council. He met Premier Wen Jiabao, Vice President Xi Jinping, Tianjin Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli, and Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean visited Beijing from 7 – 11 May and met Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, Politburo Member and Central Organisation Department (COD) Minister Li Yuanchao, State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu, Minister of State Security Geng Huichang, and Minister of Commerce Chen Deming. He also co-chaired the 3rd Singapore-China Leadership Forum with COD Minister Li Yuanchao.
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Hainan from 30 March – 3 April to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, where he met Vice Premier Li Keqiang.
Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam made an introductory visit to Beijing from 9 – 11 February and met Vice Premier Li Keqiang, State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu, Procurator-General Cao Jianming, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi, and Minister of Culture Cai Wu.
Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong visited Singapore from 7 – 10 February and met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan, and Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang. He also attended the China International Fair for Trade in Services promotional event.
People's Republic of China
Singapore enjoys strong and substantive relations with China, anchored by a steady flow of high-level visits, strengthening economic ties, and growing people-to-people exchanges. Over the past year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam and other Ministers made separate visits to China. From the Chinese side, Politburo Standing Committee Member Zhou Yongkang, Guangdong Party Secretary Wang Yang, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi visited Singapore. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Vice Premier Wang Qishan co-chaired the 9th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in Suzhou (Jiangsu) in July 2012. Deputy Prime Minister Teo also co-chaired the 3rd Singapore-China Leadership Forum with Central Organisation Department Minister Li Yuanchao in May 2012. The growing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries are supplemented by programmes such as the Central Party School Study Visit Programme, Chinese Mayors' Study Visit Programme, the Senior Chinese Officials Study Visit Programme, and the Public Policy Programme. Both sides also enjoy close cooperation in regional and international fora.
Singapore and China continue to enjoy robust economic ties. In 2012, China was Singapore's 3rd largest trading partner, with bilateral trade in 2012 rising 2.4% from the previous year to S$103.8 billion, and remained as our top investment destination. Besides our two flagship government-to-government projects – the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Eco-city – we have also stepped up economic engagement with China at the provincial level through our seven provincial councils in Sichuan, Shandong, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Guangdong, and Jiangsu. Both sides have also strengthened economic links through private sector-led initiatives such as the Guangzhou Knowledge City, the Singapore-Sichuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park, and the Jilin Food Zone. The China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA), which came into effect in January 2009, is the first comprehensive bilateral FTA that China has concluded with an Asian country. Singapore and China have also agreed to enhance financial services cooperation under the CSFTA.
Going beyond the traditional parameters of economic cooperation, Singapore and China are also exploring new spheres of collaboration in education, culture and social management. Some recent initiatives include the inaugural Singapore-China Forum on Social Management, the education and research collaboration between the Singapore University of Technology and Design, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Zhejiang University, and the establishment of the China Cultural Centre in Singapore. Singapore also welcomed the arrival of the two Giant Pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, in September 2012.
