PSD-MFA Joint Press Statement for 9th Leadership Forum

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT

MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND MINISTER-IN-CHARGE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE CHAN CHUN SING’S MEETINGS IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 10 TO 13 SEPTEMBER 2023

Minister for Education and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing visited the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 10 to 13 September 2023. He co-chaired the 9^th Singapore-China Forum on Leadership with Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and CPC Central Committee Organisation Department Minister Li Ganjie on 12 September 2023 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China.

2        At a bilateral meeting ahead of the Forum, Minister Chan and Minister Li affirmed the longstanding and multifaceted relationship between Singapore and China, which was upgraded to an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership”. They also reaffirmed the importance of the Forum, which continues to serve as the premier platform for both countries to discuss common challenges in leadership development and deepen mutual understanding and trust between their leaders and senior officials. The Ministers welcomed the good momentum of high-level engagements, which are complemented by the resumption of training and exchanges at the officials and people-to-people level.

3        This year’s Forum, themed ‘Evolving Leadership in a Modern World’, was the first to be held in-person following the COVID-19 pandemic. In his keynote address at the Opening Ceremony of the Forum, Minister Chan highlighted how the bilateral relations between Singapore and China had progressed over generations, made possible by the deep mutual trust and understanding between both countries and a strong commitment to work together continually and support each other to succeed. He added that despite differing circumstances and contexts, Singapore and China share many similar challenges and opportunities. As such, both countries could also share several best practices in evolving governance approaches.        

4        Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo also delivered a plenary address. Speaking about evolving models of governance, she shared how Singapore is embarking on an exercise to refresh the country’s social compact and how Singapore is working towards its vision of building a country that lasts, endures and thrives for generations.

5        Minister Chan also met his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng. They reaffirmed the warm education ties and noted the extensive educational collaborations at all levels.

6        As part of the trip, Minister Chan and the Singapore delegation visited the CPC Central Committee Party School (National Academy of Governance) and met with Party School Executive Vice President Xie Chuntao. They also visited the Xiong’An New Area in Hebei Province to learn about China’s regional development strategy, and met Standing Committee Member of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Working Committee of the Xiong’An New Area Zhang Guohua.

Public Service Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Education
13 September 2023