Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan had a telephone call with Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Wang Yi today.
Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang reaffirmed the longstanding and substantive relationship between Singapore and China, which had been upgraded to an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership” in April this year. They welcomed the steady improvement in flight connectivity between Singapore and China, and looked forward to strengthening people-to-people exchanges. Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang looked forward to a fruitful 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation later this year, which will be co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong and PRC Executive Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.
Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang also exchanged views on regional and international issues. Minister Balakrishnan welcomed the improved tenor of US-China relations, following the meeting between US President Joe Biden and PRC President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting the previous week. Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang also discussed the situation in the Middle East.
. . . . .
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
22 NOVEMBER 2023