Chinese premier pledges joint efforts with Singapore for more just, equitable world order

SINGAPORE -- China is willing to work with Singapore to implement the major global initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote the development of the international order in a more just and equitable direction, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday.

As the multilateral trading system comes under severe strain, China is ready to cooperate with Singapore to strengthen communication and collaboration within the United Nations and other mechanisms, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, uphold free trade and economic globalization, Li said during talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Noting that Xi's meeting with Wong in June in Beijing charted the course for the development of bilateral relations in the next stage, Li said China stands ready to work with Singapore to follow the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, uphold the original aspirations for the establishment of diplomatic ties, and carry forward traditional friendship.

Li called on both sides to consolidate political mutual trust, expand pragmatic cooperation, and continuously deepen bilateral relations to better serve their modernization drives and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability and development.

Li said that the just-concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) deliberated over and adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, providing top-level design and strategic planning for China's development over the next five years and beyond.

He noted that China is willing to strengthen development alignment with Singapore, make full use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, maintain the sound momentum of two-way trade and investment growth, further enhance and expand key cooperative projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Eco-City, deepen cooperation in areas such as digital economy, green economy, artificial intelligence, new energy and biomedicine, and actively explore third-party cooperation.

China welcomes more Singaporean enterprises to invest in China and hopes that the Singaporean side will continue to provide support for Chinese enterprises operating in Singapore, said the premier.

He also called on the two countries to strengthen exchanges of experience in areas such as social welfare and employment promotion, work together for better development through mutual learning, and deepen cooperation in culture, tourism, education, media and youth exchanges to continuously enhance mutual understanding and friendship.

Wong congratulated the successful convening of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC. Noting that this year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Singapore and China, Wong said bilateral relations are developing well, with the friendship between the two countries continuously deepening, mutually beneficial cooperation increasingly expanding, and fruitful results being achieved.

The Singaporean government adheres to the one-China principle and firmly opposes "Taiwan independence," Wong said.

Wong said that Singapore stands ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, enhance exchanges of experience in governance, promote landmark major projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and cooperation on connectivity, foster new growth points for cooperation in fields including green economy, digital economy and artificial intelligence, actively carry out third-party cooperation, promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and continuously enrich the connotation of the all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership between Singapore and China.

Wong said that Singapore is fully confident in China's development and is willing to continue investing in China.

Singapore supports the Global Development Initiative proposed by Xi and is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination with China, safeguard free trade, adhere to multilateralism, and make unremitting efforts to promote stability and prosperity in the region and the world at large, he added.

After the talks, Li and Wong jointly witnessed the exchange of multiple cooperation documents in areas such as digital economy, green development, information and communication, transportation, food safety, emergency management, and third-party cooperation.

Prior to the talks, Wong held a welcoming ceremony for Li at the Parliament House.