On May 22, according to information released by China, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will pay a working visit to China from May 24 to 26.
Following Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s recent visit to Hainan and his attendance at the Boao Forum for Asia, as well as Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visits to Guangxi and Shanghai, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan is now set to make another working visit to China from May 24 to 26. The consecutive high-level visits from Singapore to China signal what?
The recent flurry of high-level visits from Singapore to China indeed sends a very strong and clear diplomatic signal. This is not only a sign of warming relations between China and Singapore, but also reflects, in a deeper sense, Singapore’s pragmatic, flexible, and crisis-aware survival wisdom amid today’s turbulent global geopolitical landscape.
Against the backdrop of increasingly intense great-power competition globally, Singapore faces tremendous external pressures. Previously, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has clearly stated that if forced to choose sides between the U.S. and China, Singapore “would not side with either America nor China,” but would instead prioritize its long-term national interests. These frequent visits to China are precisely Singapore’s concrete actions demonstrating its adherence to the traditional foreign policy strategy of “dancing between the giants,” signaling to the world that it refuses to be pinned down by any single bloc, and striving to maintain strategic autonomy and balance amidst the great power rivalry.
Singapore is a small nation whose entire national survival hinges on the Malacca Strait, this vital shipping artery, and the stability of global supply chains. Faced with potential chain reactions from regional conflicts such as those in the Middle East—where Vivian Balakrishnan once likened the turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz to a “rehearsal” for future Pacific confrontations—Singapore harbors a profound sense of crisis. China has been Singapore’s top trading partner for many consecutive years. By closely aligning with China’s industrial chain (e.g., through initiatives like the West Land-Sea New Channel), Singapore aims to ensure resilience in its supply chains under any international turbulence, thereby avoiding potential economic risks.
This wave of high-level exchanges is not merely traditional economic engagement; it marks a new, deeper stage in China-Singapore cooperation.
Singapore is actively positioning itself as a “strategic vanguard” and compliance hub for Chinese tech firms entering Southeast Asia. Data shows that in 2025, investments from China into Singapore surged dramatically, surpassing the United States for the first time to become its second-largest source of investment. Through deepening cooperation with China, Singapore seeks to transform established bilateral cooperation frameworks into replicable models for ASEAN, thus maintaining its central role as a key hub in Southeast Asia’s digital transformation and regional economic integration.
In summary, Singapore’s recent “seamless” series of high-level visits to China stems both from realistic considerations regarding national survival and development, and from forward-looking strategic planning for the regional order. It demonstrates that Singapore is proactively embedding itself within China’s broader economic development agenda to hedge against the massive risks posed by global geopolitical shifts.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1865885244976140/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.