Yin Li, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, met with Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of Singapore, on February 20.

Yin welcomed Dr. Balakrishnan and his colleagues and briefed them on Beijing’s socio-economic development, noting that China and Singapore, as friendly neighbors, have carried out close and fruitful cooperation in trade and investment, people-to-people exchange, and Covid-19 response. The meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Bangkok, Thailand last November provided strategic guidance on the further development of the bilateral relations. Looking ahead, Beijing is willing to forge stronger trade and economic ties with Singapore in terms of scale and quality. Both sides can draw on each other’s experience in creating an enabling business environment, and deliver good services to help companies from each other’s cities in trade and investment. In the areas of science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, the two sides can pilot joint R&D incentive mechanisms to better integrate into the global innovation network; share experience in improving innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and strengthening IPR protection, and cooperate more closely on AI, digital economy and other key areas; and promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in culture and tourism. In terms of urban governance, the two sides can cross-fertilize good practices in smart cities, social security systems, and commercial space planning to improve urban governance and fulfill people’s aspirations for a better life.

Dr. Balakrishnan said that Beijing is a vibrant city that has seen substantial improvement in its ecological environment. He looked forward to broader and deeper cooperation between Beijing and Singapore in areas such as digital economy, technological innovation, and urban governance, as well as more interaction between entrepreneurs and the youth of the two sides. Singapore will provide better service and greater convenience to Beijing enterprises and Chinese students in Singapore.

Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Development, Lui Tuck Yew, Ambassador of Singapore to China, and Xia Linmao, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Executive Vice Mayor of Beijing, attended the meeting.

(Written by: Liu Feifei; Photo by: Dai Bing, Cai Daizheng)