Official Visit of Vice Premier Han Zheng of the People’s Republic of China, 1 to 2 November 2022

Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Han Zheng made an official visit to Singapore from 1 to 2 November 2022. Vice Premier Han called on President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong, and met Senior Minister (SM) and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean today. Vice Premier Han also had a bilateral meeting with Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong the previous evening.

During the meetings, the leaders of both sides reaffirmed the excellent ties between Singapore and China, which had kept up the momentum of high-level interactions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, including through virtual meetings and bilateral visits. These included Vice Premier Han’s visit to Singapore, which was his first overseas visit since the pandemic, and was a milestone in the gradual resumption of more in-person people-to-people exchanges between both countries.

  The leaders welcomed the growing and wide-ranging cooperation between both countries in traditional areas such as finance, trade, and investments, as well as emerging areas like innovation, digital economy, and green development, which was evident from the substantive outcomes of the 18^th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) and related Joint Steering Council (JSC) meetings which were co-chaired by DPM and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat and Vice Premier Han on 1 November.

President Halimah, PM Lee, DPM Wong, and SM Teo also congratulated Vice Premier Han on the successful conclusion of the 20^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which had taken place at an important juncture in China’s development. Both sides agreed to further develop and strengthen bilateral cooperation in tandem with their respective development priorities, which would bring benefits not just to the two countries but also the wider region.

The leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues, including climate change and the challenges facing the global economy.

.     .     .     .     .

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

2 NOVEMBER 2022