CHINESE President Hu Jintao's visit to Singapore on Wednesday is expected to yield new bilateral initiatives in education and culture, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday.

It will also give a further boost to longstanding good relations between the two countries, Mr Lee added.

Mr Hu's visit to Singapore is his first since taking office six years ago.

Over three days, he will meet Mr Lee and other Singapore leaders, as well as members of the business community here.

He will then join other regional and world leaders for meetings over the weekend to cap the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, hosted by Singapore.

Mr Hu's visit here rounds off a busy and fruitful year for bilateral relations, with several Chinese leaders and ministers visiting Singapore, and their Singaporean counterparts visiting key Chinese cities, PM Lee said in an interview with China's official Xinhua news agency, released on Sunday.

Read the full report in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.