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2nd LD Writethru: Chinese president arrives in Singapore for state visit

Xinhua, November 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Singapore on Friday for a state visit to the Southeast Asian nation at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Tony Tan Keng Yam.

China and Singapore are each other's close and friendly neighbor, Xi said upon his arrival at the airport.

Xi hailed the traditional high-level exchanges between China and Singapore during the past 25 years since the two sides established diplomatic ties, as well as their ever-deepening and ever-expanding cooperation in various fields that has achieved fruitful results.

Favorable development of bilateral relations, Xi said, has not only benefited the two countries and their peoples, but also contributed to the peace, stability and prosperity of the region.

The Chinese president said he wishes to exchange views with Singaporean President Tan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on bilateral ties and also on international and regional issues of common concern, so as to jointly map out plans for the future development of China-Singapore relations and lead to even greater achievement of bilateral ties.

This is Xi's first visit to the city-state as Chinese president. It is also the first state visit hosted by Singapore after its Sept. 11 election.

Singaporean President Tan visited China from late June to early July. Thus it is also the first time that the two countries' heads of state exchange visits during the same year, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-Singapore diplomatic ties.

Cooperation between China and Singapore has always been forward-looking and pace-setting, as the two countries will redefine their relations to keep abreast of the times and expand to various areas, said Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Chen Xiaodong.

During Xi's visit, China and Singapore are expected to announce the third government-to-government project besides the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city.

The new inter-governmental project will be located in western China, and focused on inter-connectivity and modern service industry, as China has put forward the Belt and Road initiative.

Leaders of the two countries will jointly promote the upgrading of a bilateral free trade agreement, while the two countries will sign an array of cooperation agreements on education, customs, finance and urban governance.

Xi will also deliver a speech on China-Singapore, China-ASEAN relations as well as regional situation.

Singapore took the rotating seat as coordinator for China-ASEAN relations this August. The China-Singapore relationship has been a pioneering example for China-ASEAN relations.

Xi flew to Singapore just after wrapping up his state visit to Vietnam. Endi