Chinese president's Singapore visit to greatly promote bilateral relations, experts say

SINGAPORE - Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Singapore on Nov. 6-7, unveiling a series of new collaborations between the two countries.

China and Singapore have long been close partners in every aspect of collaboration, and Xi's visit comes at a very special moment as this year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two. It is also the first time the top leaders from China and Singapore exchange visits within a year.

When Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam visited China in July, he and Xi pledged to further promote the bilateral ties between the two countries. Therefore, it is widely expected that Xi's visit will raise bilateral ties to a new level.

"The relationship between Singapore and China has evolved to such an extent that it's time, for example, for both countries to look at the more strategic cooperation. Of course in the economic field, and also in many more other exchanges, such as more strategic consensus and so on. President Xi Jinping's visit to Singapore will definitely try to deepen this sort of very special relations between Singapore and China," Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told Xinhua.

Similarly, Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Chen Xiaodong confirmed during a media briefing on Tuesday that Xi's visit will enhance mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, expand cultural exchanges, as well as build a comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

Liu Hong, chair of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University, said that as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties, this would become an opportunity to deepen the Sino-Singaporean relationship, including economic and trade collaboration, which is the highlight of their bilateral relationship.

China and Singapore will sign a series of agreements during Xi's visit, which will demonstrate the latest consensus and achievements between the two countries. Xi will also officially announce the location of the highly-anticipated third government-to-government (G2G) project in China's western region, which could become an exemplary one on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.

Zheng Chao, minister counsellor at the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, told Xinhua that this third G2G project focuses mainly on modern services and modern logistics, which will fit into the future strategic plan of both countries.

"The third G2G project will definitely drive innovations in cooperation approaches as well as content, and will surely become a flagship project in bilateral collaboration," he said.

During Xi's stay here, the leaders of the two countries will jointly upgrade the Free Trade Agreement and deliver a series of proposals to guide the building of the 21st Maritime Silk Road on a macro-level.

Zheng said that both countries should therefore take Xi's visit as an important opportunity to explore new collaboration areas; for example, companies from China and Singapore can "join hands, go global" with the propulsion of the "Belt and Road" initiative. There are over 6,200 Chinese companies operating in Singapore, also called the Lion City, with many using it as a convenient base to access the Southeast Asian market.

"After Xi's visit, we wish in the coming years we will have even more intense relationships working for peace together and for more interactions between the people and more economic integration with each other," said Professor Arnoud De Meyer, president of Singapore Management University.

Over the past 25 years, China and Singapore have achieved fruitful cooperation on large-scale projects in finance, technology, environmental protection, education, tourism and social governance, with bilateral personnel exchanges totalling 2.38 million U.S. dollars last year.

During his visit, Xi will unveil the China Cultural Center and witness a new memorandum of understanding signed to boost a new round of educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. This would further push forward bilateral ties more comprehensively.

"The bilateral relationship is now at a crucial juncture of inheriting the past, ushering in the future, and President Xi's upcoming state visit will inspire a new direction and open a new chapter for Sino-Singapore relations," Ambassador Chen said.