China, Singapore eye deeper cooperation

Premier Li Qiang said on Sunday that China's economy is built on a solid foundation for stable operations with a dynamic flow of human resources, goods, information and capital, and its new growth drivers are expanding, offering businesses a broader market.

Li made the remarks in Singapore at a China-Singapore business community symposium during his official visit to the country. He attended the event along with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.

The premier said the just-concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), providing strategic planning for China's development over the next five years.

China will firmly promote high-level opening-up, further ease market access, continuously optimize the business environment, treat both domestic and foreign enterprises equally, and actively address enterprises' reasonable concerns, he added.

Li highlighted the substantial progress made in China-Singapore relations over the past three-and-a-half decades since the two countries established diplomatic ties, saying that their development presents significant opportunities for each other.

He noted the implementation of the mutual visa exemption agreement and the upgrade of the free trade agreement, both of which took place last year, as pivotal developments, and said that China-Singapore cooperation will create new opportunities for enterprises in the two countries as well as for those in other countries around the world.

Business representatives attending the meeting said that China-Singapore economic and trade cooperation benefits the development and prosperity of both countries and the region.

Expressing their optimism about China's development prospects, representatives of Singapore businesses said they will continue to invest in China because they believe the nation's modernization process will bring more opportunities for other countries, including Singapore.

Business communities of both countries expressed their commitments to further strengthening their connections and deepening cooperation in areas such as finance, investment, the digital economy, green development, infrastructure, logistics and healthcare, in order to achieve more fruitful outcomes from practical cooperation.

Li, who arrived in Singapore on Saturday for a two-day official visit, attended a welcoming ceremony hosted for him by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Parliament House before their official talks.

The two prime ministers jointly witnessed the exchange of multiple cooperation documents in areas such as the digital economy, green development, information and communication, transportation, food safety, emergency management, and third-party cooperation.

During their talks, Li expressed China's willingness to work with Singapore to implement the major global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping to promote the development of the international order in a more just and equitable direction.

As the multilateral trading system comes under severe strain, China is ready to cooperate with Singapore to strengthen communication and collaboration within the United Nations and other international frameworks, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and uphold free trade and economic globalization, Li said.

He called on both sides to consolidate political mutual trust, expand pragmatic cooperation, and continuously deepen bilateral relations to better serve their modernization drives and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability and development.

China welcomes more Singaporean enterprises to invest in China and hopes that the Singaporean side will continue to provide support for Chinese enterprises operating in Singapore, he added.

Wong congratulated the successful convening of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.

While hailing the development of bilateral relations, he said the Singaporean government adheres to the one-China principle and firmly opposes "Taiwan independence".

Singapore is fully confident in China's development and is willing to continue investing in China, Wong added.

On Sunday, Li also met with Singapore's Acting President Eddie Teo. He expressed China's willingness to work with Singapore and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to make the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 a success and jointly achieve greater development.

Teo said that Singapore looks forward to China's 15th Five-Year Plan benefiting the region and the world. Singapore is willing to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with China, deepen the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership, promote World Trade Organization reform, and build an open world economy, he added.

After concluding his official visit to Singapore, Li flew to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday afternoon to attend the leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation.