Singapore prime minister to pay official visit to China

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will pay a five-day official visit to China, starting from Sunday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Wong's choice to make China his first country to visit outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since taking office in May fully manifests the high regard he places on advancing bilateral relations, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Friday.

Chinese leaders will hold talks and meetings with him, during which both sides will engage in in-depth exchanges on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest, Guo told a daily news briefing.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Singapore.

Describing China and Singapore as close neighbors and important cooperative partners, Guo said that China looks forward to strengthening strategic communication with Singapore, deepening exchanges and cooperation across various fields, and jointly upholding multilateralism and free trade.

By doing so, the two sides can propel the bilateral relationship to achieve greater progress and make more contributions to regional and global prosperity and development, he added.