SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday (Aug 11) reaffirmed the two countries’ “longstanding and substantive relations”, which were upgraded in April.

The decision to elevate bilateral ties followed a meeting earlier this year between Mr Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said at the time that the upgraded partnership reflects the commitment by both sides to continually expand bilateral cooperation, as well as pursue new collaboration in forward-looking areas such as digital and green economies.

On Friday, Mr Lee and Mr Wang discussed how to expand and enhance collaboration that would benefit both countries and the region, MFA said in a press statement.

Mr Wang also updated Mr Lee on China’s foreign policy priorities.

Mr Lee welcomed China’s continued engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and looked forward to closer ASEAN-China cooperation, said MFA.

“Both sides affirmed the importance of building an open, peaceful and inclusive region,” it added.

Mr Wang also called on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.

“They took stock of the good progress in bilateral cooperation, anchored by our three government-to-government projects in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing, and institutionalised platforms such as the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC),” MFA said.

This is the 15th anniversary of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project and both sides seek to leverage the opportunity to refresh bilateral cooperation.

Mr Wong will visit China later this year to co-chair the 19th JCBC with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.