Top legislator Wu Bangguo and Singaporean President S. R. Nathan on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the state of bilateral relations and agreed that some differences between the two countries can be narrowed through contact and communication.  

Wu, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, met Nathan on the second day of a three-day official goodwill visit to the country, and the two had a conversation on a wide range of topics.

While it has not been very long since China and Singapore established diplomatic ties 15 years ago, the relations between the two countries have grown rapidly, showing a good momentum for comprehensive cooperation, said Wu, who arrived here on Tuesday.

The business as well as scientific and technological circles of both countries has also demonstrated a strong desire for deepening cooperation and China-Singapore relations are now in a crucial period of rapid development, Wu said.

Wu pointed out that the good relationship between the two countries does not mean there can be no differences between them. Since each country may be at a different stage of development and influenced by different circumstances, it is only natural that a country should hold different views from others on some issues, he added.

These differences can be narrowed through continued communication and contact and as a result, consensus can be reached over an ever wider range of issues, Wu stressed.

Wu also thanked President Nathan and the Singaporean government for their understanding of and support for the one-China policy.

Nathan said Singapore values its good relations with China, adding that the diverging views held by the two countries are by no means differences over their core interests.

The one-China policy is what Singapore has all along followed and put into practice in dealing with its relations with China, he said.

On regional cooperation, the Singaporean president said his country is happy to see that China attaches importance to developing mutually beneficial cooperative ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). China's development is not a threat to the development of ASEAN and its neighbors and it will only bring about more opportunities for them, he said.

Singapore stands ready to make concerted efforts with China for enhanced cooperation in the region, Nathan said.

Wu said Singapore is an important member of ASEAN and plays an important role in development of relations between China and the regional group. China is ready to work together with ASEAN countries for a brilliant future, he said.

Singapore is the first leg of Wu's current four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, which will also take him to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2005)