BEIJING - Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean will be visiting Beijing from Sunday (Feb 26) to Tuesday where he will co-chair an annual high-level bilateral meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli.
The meeting on Monday will be the 13th of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), a platform to discuss ways to deepen and broaden Singapore-China cooperation.
The first JCBC was held in 2004, with then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then Vice-Premier Wu Yi as co-chairs.
Mr Teo, also Coordinating Minister for National Security, and Mr Zhang, who is also a member of the Communist Party's apex Politburo Standing Committee, will also co-chair meetings of the 18th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council (JSC) and the 9th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city JSC.
The Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city are the first two government-to-government projects, started in 1994 and 2008 respectively, which have helped cement ties between the two countries.
A highlight of this JCBC is the inaugural meeting of the joint steering council of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, a third government-to-government project that was launched in November 2015 and aims to turn Chongqing into a logistics and services hub.
Together, the two leaders will review the progress made on the three flagship projects and discuss the direction of future bilateral cooperation, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
During his visit, Mr Teo will also have separate meetings with other Chinese leaders.
He will also meet the Singaporean community in Beijing at a ministerial dialogue in conjunction with the 15th anniversary of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (SingCham).
Mr Teo will be accompanied by Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang; Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan; Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu; Minister, Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing; Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong; Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng; Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung as well as other senior officials.
