Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping on 31 March 2023 at the Great Hall of the People during his Official Visit to China.
Prime Minister Lee congratulated President Xi on his re-appointment as President and for the successful convening of the 14th National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference meetings (Lianghui).
In reaffirming the excellent bilateral relations, Prime Minister Lee and President Xi agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership” (全方位高质量的前瞻性伙伴关系). The upgraded partnership reflects both sides’ commitment to continually expand bilateral cooperation, and pursue new collaboration in forward-looking areas such as digital and green economies.
Prime Minister Lee and President Xi reaffirmed the importance of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation as the annual apex bilateral cooperation platform that will continue to be held at the same level and frequency to provide guidance for both sides’ high-quality and future-oriented cooperation. Prime Minister Lee and President Xi agreed that both sides should work towards resuming flight connectivity and people-to-people exchanges to pre-pandemic levels, as both countries work together towards post-pandemic recovery.
President Xi updated Prime Minister Lee on China’s domestic priorities. Prime Minister Lee welcomed China’s commitment to reform and modernisation efforts, and highlighted Singapore’s readiness to strengthen economic ties with China. Prime Minister Lee and President Xi exchanged views on regional and international developments. Prime Minister Lee welcomed China’s growing engagement of ASEAN. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of building an open, peaceful, and inclusive region.
Prime Minister Lee also met Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji. They discussed the good bilateral cooperation in the legal and judicial fronts and agreed on the importance of closer exchanges between both parliaments. Prime Minister Lee looked forward to the resumption of more high-level exchanges between Singapore and China, by leveraging institutional bilateral mechanisms such as the Singapore-China Forum on Leadership and the Singapore-China Social Governance Forum.
Prime Minister Lee met Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Huning. Prime Minister Lee noted that both sides enjoyed close bilateral cooperation and mutual trust built over generations at the leadership and people-to-people levels. Our Government-to-Government projects in Suzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing have continued to progress with both sides’ evolving development priorities. Prime Minister Lee noted that 2023 was the 15th anniversary of the Tianjin Eco-City (TEC), and both sides were working towards an expanded scope of collaboration. Chairman Wang updated Prime Minister Lee on the CPPCC’s work and China’s future priorities.
Prime Minister Lee met and was hosted to lunch by Secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee Yin Li. Prime Minister Lee and Party Secretary Yin exchanged views on developments in Singapore and Beijing. They welcomed closer engagements between Singapore and Beijing for mutual benefit, in areas such as people-to-people exchanges, science and technology, and trade.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
31 MARCH 2023