High-level agreements to be signed during Chinese president's visit to Singapore
High-level agreements bet-ween Singapore and China, including the start of the third government-to-government project and negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free-trade agreement, are to be signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the repu
Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Chen Xiaodong said Xi’s visit, from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, would be a short but packed one.
At the top of the agenda is the signing of an agreement to kick-start Singapore’s third project in China, after the 1994 Suzhou Industrial Park and the 2008 Tianjin Eco-City.
The bilateral project will be on the theme of "modern connectivity and modern services" and will be sited somewhere in China’s western region. Although its exact contours and location have yet to be publicly announced, the two sides are set to pick at least one city among Chongqing, Chengdu and Xian to host the new project.
Chen said the project would have a positive effect on the Chinese government’s plan to develop its vast western region as well as help realise Xi’s initiative to revive the Silk Road trading belt that winds through Central and Southeast Asia.
Other agreements to be signed include the promotion of this Silk Road vision, as well as exchanges in the areas of education, customs, finance and urban management.
Both governments also intend to announce a new direction for the bilateral relationship, said Chen, as befitting the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations and to show that ties are evolving with the times.
Xi’s visit to mark this anniversary is part of an exchange of presidential visits, with Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam visiting Beijing and Tianjin in July.
Xi will be accompanied on the trip by his wife, Peng Liyuan.
A state banquet will be held in his honour, and Xi and Peng will have an orchid named after them at the Botanic Gardens, and be hosted to a private lunch by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Ho Ching.
During his trip, Xi will also officiate, together with Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, the opening of the China Cultural Centre in Queen Street.
Chen noted that the forthcoming visit was Xi’s first official visit to Singapore as president as well as the first state visit hosted by the new Singaporean government elected in the September general election.
"At this historic moment, Xi’s visit is a meaningful one that will inject new momentum and open a new chapter for the Sino-Singapore relationship," he said.
"I’m heartened to feel the attention and anticipation paid by the Singapore government and people to the visit."
