China and Singapore on Monday agreed to enhance cooperation in combating COVID-19 and developing the digital economy.

The pledge was made during a meeting between visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

At the meeting, Wang said the China-Singapore relations have advanced with the times, playing a leading role in regional cooperation.

China is willing to work together with Singapore to bring into full play the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the highest-level and most influential cooperation mechanism between the two countries, in order to push the bilateral cooperation to new heights, Wang said.

On the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said China is willing to join hands with Singapore to work on medicine research and development and virus research, among others, and jointly oppose vaccine nationalism to contribute to the regional anti-pandemic course and the building of a community of common health for mankind.

The pandemic has triggered a booming digital economy, Wang noted, saying that China is ready to work with Singapore to utilize digital technologies to upgrade the bilateral cooperation projects and mechanisms, and expand the cooperation in areas including green economy, so as to facilitate the economic recovery of both countries and the region.

Heng, for his part, said maintaining high-level contacts amid the pandemic is of great significance in strengthening bilateral cooperation between Singapore and China.

He hoped that a new JCBC meeting will be held to push forward the bilateral cooperation in the post-pandemic era.

The deputy prime minister praised China for conducting vaccine cooperation and sharing experience in pandemic prevention and control with other countries.

He said Singapore is willing to continue promoting cooperation with China in the fields including pandemic prevention and control, digital economy, green finance, and climate change.

In a meeting with Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on the same day, Wang said China and Singapore have enjoyed mutual understanding and mutual trust in the development of bilateral relations.

The two sides agreed to deepen pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in multiple sectors.

Focusing on economic development and fighting the pandemic, the two sides have worked together to push forward the development of bilateral ties and have achieved fruitful results, Wang said.

China is willing to join hands with Singapore to promote strategic communication, deepen pragmatic cooperation, overcome difficulties and win the war against the pandemic at an early date, thereby pushing forward the speedy recovery of each other's economy and making positive contributions to peace and development in the region as well as the world at large, Wang said.

Wang stressed that the two sides should maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen joint prevention and control of COVID-19 and press for cooperation in fighting the virus.

He also noted that the two sides should work together to push forward the joint construction of the Belt and Road with high quality, give full play to the role of the new land-sea route, synergize the new land-sea route with the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, tap the cooperation potential in fields including e-commerce, artificial intelligence, mobile payment and big data, so as to add new impetus to the development of bilateral ties.

China is ready to work with ASEAN countries including Singapore to make good preparation for the commemorative event to mark the 30th anniversary of the dialogue relations between China and ASEAN to elevate the China-ASEAN relations to a higher level, he said.

Wang said the two sides should also work together to push for the early entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

For his part, Balakrishnan said China and Singapore have maintained an open, candid and friend-like relationship, and Singapore is grateful for China's provision of COVID-19 vaccines to his country.

Singapore is always ready to deepen cooperation with China in the anti-pandemic fight, trade, investment, digital economy and green development, he said.

He said Singapore would like to make greater efforts to align China's plan for the new land-sea route with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, so as to inject new impetus into the ties between the two countries.

As China-ASEAN relations bear a fundamental, comprehensive and strategic significance, Balakrishnan said ASEAN countries hope to develop a stable and solid relationship of cooperation with China as both sides mark the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations this year.

Singapore supports the acceleration of consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and backs the RCEP agreement taking effect at an early date, Balakrishnan said. 

He noted that Singapore is willing to work with China to stick to multilateralism in addressing new problems and challenges to push for the just and sustainable development of the world.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in Singapore, September 13, 2021. /Chinese Foreign Ministry)