'Tremendous impetus' in cooperation

Bilateral meetings on joint projects and currency trade

Cooperation between Singapore and China has "tremendous impetus", judging from the high-level bilateral meetings held recently, said China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

At a meeting with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on Oct 28 at the Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing where China's top leaders work, Yang said projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, the Tianjin Eco-City and a proposed third government-to-government project had all been given a boost.

"With the guidance of leaders of both countries and the joint efforts by our peoples, continuous progress has been made in China-Singapore ties," he added.

Teo said there had been "excellent discussions" over a broad range of issues.

"We reviewed progress in the Tianjin Eco-City and discussed further areas for cooperation," he said. "We also inaugurated important new areas for cooperation such as direct trade in the renminbi and Singapore dollar."

Discussions on a proposed third bilateral project were "going well", he added.

Teo also co-chaired the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation with Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli on Oct 27.

New milestones such as direct currency trading and the widening scope of cooperation in areas such as social governance and financial services were discussed.

The Joint Council is the highest-level mechanism for bilateral cooperation. This year's meeting was held in eastern city of Suzhou in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park.

The Suzhou Industrial Park launched in 1994 was the first government-to-government project. A third was proposed by Vice-Premier Zhang at last year's meeting in Singapore.

Teo also met Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Fan Changlong, who noted the close ties between China and Singapore and shared an anecdote that touched on his friendship with Teo.

He said Teo had made "great effort" to have a breakfast meeting with him when he made a brief stopover in Changi Airport last July en route to Australia.

"We had a very friendly exchange during that meeting, in which you expressed affection towards the Chinese people and friendship towards myself. I was deeply moved by that," General Fan said.

He also noted that "fruitful exchange" during the Joint Council meeting had led to improved cooperation by both countries. The direct currency exchange is very significant for China as Beijing pushes to internationalize the yuan, he said

Separately, Teo also met former Vice-Premier Li Lanqing to thank him for his significant contributions to bilateral relations and the development of the Suzhou Industrial Park, according to a Singapore Foreign Ministry statement.

Contact the writer at esthert@sph.com.sg

The Straits Times Asia News Network

(China Daily 11/10/2014 page39)