Describing it as a significant event in the development of Sino-Singapore ties, Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Zhang Yun said that the coming visit to the city state by Chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Wu Bangguo will push the bilateral relations to a new high.  

Speaking in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Zhang said that in the context of the economic globalization and regional integration, the healthy and steady development of the China-Singapore relations of friendship and comprehensive cooperation is not only in the fundamental interests of the two nations, but also beneficial to social improvement and economic prosperity of the region.

The ambassador said that the two countries have been conducting impressive exchanges and cooperation in various fields in less than 15 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, maintaining a very good momentum.

As a result of the concerted efforts by the two governments, a type of win-win cooperative relationship characterized by complementarity and mutual benefit is being shaped in the new century, while comprehensive collaboration in areas such as politics, trade, culture, education and tourism is getting closer.

The ambassador noted that the frequent exchange of visits between state leaders of the two sides in recent years provided additional vitality for the promotion of bilateral ties.

In 2002, the two countries decided to strengthen cooperation in four key areas, such as hi-tech, personnel training, Chinese companies' internationalization as well as the development of west China.

In November 2003, Singapore's then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong reached consensus with the Chinese side about the establishment of a Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in his visit to China, and the two sides enlarged the key areas of cooperation to five to include revitalizing northeast China.

Singapore's then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the JCBC with Vice Premier Wu Yi in Suzhou in 2004, where they celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park, a joint venture between the two governments.

Calling the Suzhou Industrial Park one of the highlights in China-Singapore collaboration, Ambassador Zhang said that it has become a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, surpassing its original concept as an industrial park.

"China and Singapore share broad common understanding on international and regional issues, and adopt similar stance on promoting the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), enhancing collaboration in East Asia as well as pan-Asia cooperation," Zhang said.

He added that Singapore holds fast to its one-China policy, which is against "Taiwan independence," and actively supports the establishment of a China-ASEAN free trade zone as well as the strategic partnership for peace and prosperity.

The ambassador pointed out that while good political relations serve as the prerequisite and foundation for bilateral cooperation, the increasingly closer economic and trade ties reflect and extend the friendly relations between the two countries.

He said he believed that the complementary situation between the two nations regarding population size, domestic market scale as well as production cost, together with the improvement in policy transparency and investment environment in China, has laid down a solid foundation for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Singapore has come to realize that it should ride on China's rapid economic development, which poses opportunities instead of threats for the region, and is willing to act as a bridge and platform to help Chinese firms enter the global market, according to Zhang.

China and Singapore have become important trade partners with bilateral trade volume jumping to US$26.7 billion in 2004 from US$2 billion in 1990, when the two countries formed diplomatic relations.

Currently, Singapore is China's largest trading partner in ASEAN and the second largest overseas market in terms of project and labor, while China attracts the largest part of Singapore's investment in foreign countries.

According to the latest statistics, Singapore has invested in 13,414 projects in China with an accumulated US$49 billion of contract investment, of which US$26 billion have been realized, while as many as 73 Chinese companies get listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. At the same time, more than 200 Chinese firms and institutions registered in Singapore employ about 10,000 Singaporeans.

Apart from enhancement of political and economic ties between the two countries, the ambassador continued, exchanges and cooperation in areas of personnel training, education, culture as well as science and technology have also seen dynamic development at both official and civil levels.

He mentioned bilateral personnel training programs in particular, saying that the arrangements benefit not only government officials and civil servants, but also professionals in various fields including medicine and aviation.

On the personnel exchange between the two countries, 880,000 Chinese visitors came to the city state in 2004 and 30,000 Chinese students are studying here, which position China the second largest visitor-generating market for Singapore and Singapore the top 10 countries worldwide in terms of receiving Chinese students.

Attaching great importance to their traditional friendship, China and Singapore managed to take the bilateral relations back onto the right track soon after the setback in July last year caused by Singapore's then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to China's Taiwan, the ambassador said.

Looking forward to the development of bilateral relations, Ambassador Zhang stressed that the two sides should continue exchanging high-level visits, deepen and expand their all-dimensional, wide-ranged and multi-level cooperation, especially in the above-mentioned key areas.

He expressed his belief that greater achievements will surely be scored in the development of China-Singapore relations.

Wu is scheduled to start his visit to Singapore on May 17 as part of his four-nation Asia Pacific tour, which will also take him to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2005)