Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, in Beijing on Monday, emphasizing the importance of strengthening strategic coordination between the two nations amidst global turbulence.
Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that both China and Singapore are forces for stability in the region. “In this turbulent world, China and Singapore need to strengthen strategic coordination and communication,” he said.
He highlighted that both countries have significant domestic political agendas this year and are making steady progress toward their national development goals. Wang Yi expressed China’s readiness to align development strategies with Singapore and to implement the all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership established by the leaders of the two countries.
“We should give full play to dialogue mechanisms at all levels, make good use of our mutual visa exemption policy, and deepen the construction of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future,” Wang Yi added, emphasizing the need to inject sustained impetus into regional integration and economic globalization.
Balakrishnan reaffirmed Singapore’s adherence to the one-China policy and its unequivocal opposition to “Taiwan independence.” He expressed the new Singaporean government’s readiness to take the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year as an opportunity to prepare for high-level exchanges and expand comprehensive cooperation.
“Singapore firmly supports free trade and the expansion of two-way investment between China and ASEAN,” Balakrishnan said, adding that Singapore stands ready to work with China to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core.
Both sides expressed willingness to strengthen coordination and work together to push for positive outcomes from the upcoming leaders’ meetings on East Asia cooperation.
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Chinese foreign minister holds talks with Singaporean counterpart
cgtn.com
