MFA Press Statement: Visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam to The People's Republic of China (PRC)

          Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam called on Communist Party of China (CPC) Politburo Standing Committee Member and PRC Executive Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli at the Great Hall of the People on 28 May 2013.   Executive Vice Premier Zhang also hosted a lunch for DPM.

          Both leaders re-affirmed the warm relations and substantive cooperation between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990.  They reviewed the achievements and progress of the two Government-to-Government projects, namely the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and the Tianjin Eco-City (TEC), as well as other major bilateral projects, and emphasised the scope for bilateral cooperation to keep up with the evolving needs of both countries.  Both leaders discussed the considerable potential in new areas of collaboration, such as finance, urban development and environmental protection, globalisation of Chinese enterprises, and social management.

          DPM Tharman welcomed Executive Vice Premier Zhang’s appointment as the new Chinese co-chair of the Singapore-China Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, the SIP Joint Steering Committee, and the TEC Joint Steering Committee.  Executive Vice Premier Zhang said that he was happy to undertake this appointment and he looked forward to visiting Singapore soon to co-chair these meetings with DPM Teo Chee Hean, and to deepen cooperation and bring bilateral relations to new heights.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

28 MAY 2013