China, Singapore pledge to further lift up relationship

BEIJING, July 3 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Singaporean counterpart Tony Tan Keng Yam on Friday and they pledged to further elevate the bilateral ties between the two countries.

Hailing Singapore as an intimate and special partner of China, Xi said the bilateral relationship strode forward in the past 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties. China is now Singapore's No.1 trading partner while Singapore is China's largest investment source, according to Xi.

Highlighting the fruitful cooperation on large-scale projects, finance, technology, environmental protection, education and social governance, Xi said he was satisfied with the good momentum of the current bilateral relationship.

Xi attributed the healthy and fast development of the ties to effective leadership, strategy and mechanism for the cooperation between the two countries.

As China and Singapore celebrate the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relations this year, Xi proposed the two sides further strengthen their strategic communication and maintain high-level interactions to enhance political trust in each other, which he said will "escort" the practical cooperation between the two countries.

He said China stands ready to discuss with Singapore upgrading their existing free-trade agreement and new opportunities for economic cooperation.

Besides Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City, Xi said the Chinese side also cares about a new intergovernmental project in West China. He hoped the project will become an exemplary one on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st - Century Maritime Silk Road.

Xi hoped a Chinese cultural center will come into operation in Singapore at an early date and looks forward to a memorandum of understanding signed to boost a new round of educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Xi said China attaches importance to the military ties and is willing to boost military-to-military cooperation between the two countries.

Reiterating China's path of peaceful development and good-neighborhood policy, Xi said the Chinese side is willing to cooperate with Singapore and the other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to advance their relationship in a sustained way.

He pledged that China will work with Singapore and all sides concerned to make the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, a professional, effective and win-win platform of promoting connectivity and development in the region.

Echoing Xi, Tan said the close high-level interactions have ensured the development of the bilateral ties.

Tan said the two sides can give more play to the bilateral free-trade agreement and promote the economic ties between Singapore and China as well as the ASEAN and China.

Stressing the significance of China's initiatives on the Belt and Road as well as the AIIB, Tan said he believed countries in the region will benefit from them.

Tan said the Singaporean side is happy to become a founding member of the AIIB and will participate in cooperation within the framework. It is of great significance for Singapore and other ASEAN countries to cooperate with China in various areas, said the Singaporean president.

Singapore will play an active role in boosting the relationship between the ASEAN and China when acting as a liaison country between the two sides.

After their talks at the Great Hall of the People, the two presidents jointly witnessed the signing of some cooperation documents.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a red-carpet ceremony to welcome the guest. Tan is making a state visit to China from June 29 to July 4 at Xi's invitation.