Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong visits China: A renewed focus on bilateral ties

Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong is on an official visit to China, marking an important chapter in bilateral cooperation as the two countries are set to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their relations next year.

This visit is particularly significant given the evolving international landscape and the strong historical contributions Lee has made to bilateral relations, experts say.

Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute of Hainan Tropical Ocean University, highlighted two contexts for Lee's visit. First, Singapore has successfully completed a smooth leadership transition, ensuring continuity in its foreign policy, and second, the global geopolitical environment remains uncertain, with the prospect of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House next year raising new challenges for the Asia-Pacific region, Gu told the Global Times.

Lee's visit aims not only to strengthen Singapore-China relations but also to explore potential avenues for coordinating amidst uncertainties in future China-U.S. relations, Gu said, adding that his extensive political influence and diplomatic experience in Singapore position him uniquely to further bilateral ties and contribute to China-U.S. dialogue.

Lee, whose visit marks his 15th in the past 20 years, has made profound contributions to Singapore-China relations. Under his leadership as prime minister, Singapore and China have developed an investment and trade relationship that underscores their economic interdependence.

Since 2013, China has been Singapore's largest trading partner, while Singapore has consistently ranked as China's largest foreign investor. In 2023, bilateral trade reached $108 billion, and Singapore's cumulative investments in China exceeded $141 billion by the end of that year.

During this visit, Lee's itinerary will include Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, signaling a renewed emphasis on deepening bilateral ties through robust economic and cultural collaboration.

The former Singaporean prime minister will engage with key bilateral projects that embody the spirit of collaboration. One such initiative is the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), a flagship project established in 1994 to advance China's reform and opening up. Combining Singapore's planning expertise and China's development capabilities, the SIP has grown into a thriving hub for advanced manufacturing and technology. Over the past 30 years, it has achieved three milestones, each surpassing the "trillion" mark: a cumulative tax revenue of 1.09 trillion yuan ($150 billion), total fixed asset investments of 1.1 trillion yuan, and a total import and export volume of $1.54 trillion.

Lee's stop in Shanghai will also highlight the Chinese journey of CapitaLand Group, a Singaporean real estate giant with deep roots in China. It has made investments in over 200 projects across 40 cities, including iconic developments like Raffles City.

In the meantime, Lee's visit to Beijing is poised to provide a platform for high-level dialogue on emerging opportunities for collaboration. Topics are likely to include the digital economy, green energy and advanced manufacturing – areas aligned with China's 14th Five-Year Plan and Singapore's push for global innovation.

Through this visit, China and Singapore are expected to build on past successful experiences, further elevate their level of cooperation, and inject fresh momentum into the overall interaction between China and Southeast Asia, Gu said.