Wang Yi Holds Talks with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan

On September 13, 2021 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore.

Wang Yi said, the friendship between China and Singapore has been fostered and carried forward as advocated by the older generation of leaders of the two countries. Both countries understand and trust each other, and bilateral relations have the very foundation and momentum to develop in the designated direction and step into a promising future. While focusing on COVID-19 response and development, the two sides have worked together to push forward the development of China-Singapore relations in keeping up with the times and have achieved fruitful results. China is willing to join hands with Singapore to promote strategic communication, deepen pragmatic cooperation, overcome difficulties and meet challenges, and win the battle against the pandemic at an early date, so as to push forward the speedy recovery of each other's economy and make a positive contribution to peace and development of the region and the world at large.

Wang Yi pointed out, the two sides should maintain high-level exchanges in flexible ways, strengthen joint prevention and control of COVID-19 and push for cooperation in fighting the virus. The two sides should promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, give full play to the role of the New Land-sea Corridor, synergize the New Land-sea Corridor with the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, and mainly tap the cooperation potential in such fields as e-commerce, artificial intelligence, mobile payment and big data, in order to inject a steady stream of new momentum into the development of bilateral ties.

Wang Yi said, China is ready to work with ASEAN countries including Singapore to prepare well for the events in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and the ASEAN, and push for further quality improvement and upgrade of China-ASEAN relations. China and Singapore should jointly uphold the ASEAN-centered regional cooperation structure and maintain regional peace and stability. The two sides should push for the early entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), accelerate the development of rules on the open, inclusive and secure digital economy, and safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law.

Vivian said, Singapore and China enjoy open, candid and old friend-like relations, and cooperation between the two countries has made smooth progress. Singapore congratulates China on successfully containing the COVID-19 pandemic and is grateful for China's provision of COVID-19 vaccines. Singapore is ready to deepen cooperation with China in such fields as COVID-19 response, trade, investment, digital economy and green development, and make stronger efforts to align the New Land-sea Corridor with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, so as to inject new impetus into the ties between the two countries. The relations between ASEAN and China are of fundamental and comprehensive strategic significance. All ASEAN countries hope to develop a stable and solid relationship of cooperation with China as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between the two sides. Singapore supports the launch of the events celebrating the 30th anniversary, the acceleration of consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and the early coming into force of the RCEP. Singapore is willing to work with China to address new problems and challenges under the guidance of multilateralism, to push for the equitable and sustainable development of the world.

Both sides also exchanged in-depth views on international and regional issues of common concern.