Singapore PM’s visit stresses economic ties

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrived in Beijing on Sunday for his first visit to China after the country's new leadership took office, with experts predicting that the visit will see an emphasis on bilateral economic ties.

The seven-day visit by Lee, on the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, is also the fourth since he assumed office in August 2004.

"The high-level visit is expected to further upgrade the already benign relations between China and Singapore," Zhang Xiaokang, former Chinese ambassador to Singapore, was quoted by China Central Television as saying.

"One of the main purposes of the visit is making a gesture of reiterating the special bilateral relations," Zhuang Guotu, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times, adding that the length of the visit shows Singapore's emphasis on China.

Su Hao, a professor with China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that though Singapore is small in size, it is a core nation in Southeast Asia and a leader of the region's development. "Singapore has been very active in promoting the cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and has been acting as a bridge connecting China and the association."

Apart from Beijing, Lee will pay a visit to the far west Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

It is widely believed that the agenda of the two legs will see Lee observing the latest progress in the Western Development Strategy and the Northeast Area Revitalization Plan.

Singapore has been active in the two national plans, which aim to promote balanced economic growth among different regions.

The Xinhua News Agency said Lee will go to Urumqi, Shihezi and Kashi for an update on local developments in Xinjiang and pay visits to Singaporean and Chinese companies in Liaoning.

Deliberations on how to expand bilateral trade relations will be one of the priorities of Lee's visit, Zhang Xiaokang said.

Su said that relations between China and Singapore are interdependent, with Singapore setting an example for China to learn about its economic development and administrative management. Meanwhile, China's skyrocketing growth has offered great investment opportunities for Singapore.

"Investment from Singapore has pushed forward China's reform and opening-up," said Su, adding that Singapore has invested in building industrial parks in Suzhou and Tianjin respectively.

"The country has always advocated economic integration between ASEAN and China, playing the role of bellwether in promoting economic cooperation between ASEAN members and China," said Zhuang.

Singapore is the only ASEAN member that has signed a Free Trade Agreement with China, with the latter becoming the third largest trading partner of Singapore.