China, Singapore to advance bilateral, regional relations

In a sign that the all-around cooperative partnership between China and Singapore has progressed with the times, Premier Li Keqiang started a five-day official visit to the Southeast Asian country with a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart on Monday.

His visit, during which he is also scheduled to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings, caps off a year of engagement between both countries, which have enjoyed friendly relations for decades. Although small in size, Singapore has played an indispensable role in China's reform and opening-up, by generously sharing its development experience with Chinese leaders as China transitioned from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. And over the years, Singapore has helped train hundreds of thousands of Chinese officials in public administration and economic management.

Bilateral relations suffered a setback in 2016 due to the flaring of regional tensions over the South China Sea disputes, but the fact that they quickly returned to a normal track, with a visit by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Beijing in September last year, reflects the importance the two countries place on their bilateral relations and their ability to manage their differences.