At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Singaporean Prime Minister Wong Chun Peng will pay an official visit to China from June 22nd to June 26th. This will be his first trip to China since assuming office as prime minister.
According to a report by Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao on June 21st, Prime Minister Wong Chun Peng recently told an exclusive interview with the 'High-Level Interview' program of China Media Group that he believes China will continue to develop well in the future and there is a bright prospect for cooperation between Singapore and China.
The report noted that during his last visit to China in December 2023 as Deputy Prime Minister, he emphasized "never bet against China's weakness." When responding to related questions during this interview, he reiterated his confidence in China's development prospects and his vision for the development of Sino-Singapore relations.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiaqun stated on June 20th that after becoming Prime Minister in May, Wong Chun Peng chose China as the first country to visit outside ASEAN, fully demonstrating his high regard for developing Sino-Singapore relations.
"China looks forward to strengthening strategic communication, deepening exchanges and cooperation in various fields through this visit, working together to uphold multilateralism and free trade, promoting greater development of Sino-Singapore relations at a new starting point, and making greater contributions to regional and global development and prosperity," said Guo Jiaqun.
Singaporean Prime Minister Wong Chun Peng interviewed. Lianhe Zaobao.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore. In 2023, the leaders of both countries established a comprehensive high-quality forward-looking partnership positioning. Wong Chun Peng said that since taking office, he has made it a point to visit China almost every year, engaging in good exchanges and talks with Chinese partners during each visit.
On this visit with his new position, Wong Chun Peng considers it "meaningful" as he aims to establish closer ties with Chinese leaders and reiterate the commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
When talking about his confidence in China's development, Wong Chun Peng said that China has extraordinary success stories, and the Chinese people also possess strong creativity and adaptability. He was deeply impressed by the high-level abilities and deep understanding of issues shown by Chinese leaders when he interacted with officials at all levels.
"This is not just about capability and grasp of issues; it is also about a willingness to listen and an openness to finding better solutions. Because no government can get everything right, mistakes are inevitable. A high-quality system is characterized by its ability to reflect, learn, continuously improve, and keep enhancing itself, and I see this in China's system," said Wong Chun Peng.
Singaporean Prime Minister Wong Chun Peng interviewed. Lianhe Zaobao.
In terms of bilateral cooperation, Wong Chun Peng believes that the prospects for cooperation between the two countries are bright, and there are many areas where they can cooperate. In regional cooperation, Wong Chun Peng also reiterated his welcome for China to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) and expressed his hope that China and ASEAN can reach an agreement on the third phase of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area during the ASEAN-China Summit in October.
During this visit to China, Wong Chun Peng will attend the Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin. He will focus on emphasizing the importance of maintaining a rules-based multilateral system at the forum, stating that "without rules and norms for long-term cooperation, the situation for all countries will worsen."
Wong Chun Peng urged countries to take action, saying, "The current multilateral system is not perfect and has room for improvement, but our response should not be to abandon the multilateral system. Instead, we must reform, improve, and progress to make the system work better for all countries."
This article is an exclusive piece by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7518314241649099283/
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