SINGAPORE – China’s new ambassador to Singapore Cao Zhongming arrived in the Republic on March 24 with a goal to promote high-quality cooperation between both countries.

Mr Cao, 59, is the 13th Chinese Ambassador to Singapore. He replaces Ms Sun Haiyan, who left her post in July 2023.

Mr Cao and his wife Yang Qing were received at Changi Airport by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and senior diplomats from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, according to a statement from the embassy on March 24.

In his written remarks upon arrival, Mr Cao noted the elevated China-Singapore bilateral relationship following a meeting between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2023. Both sides agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to an “all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership”, charting the course for the development of bilateral relations in the new era.

In a Facebook post on March 25, Mr Cao said it was his great honour to come to Singapore and praised Singaporeans as hard-working and talented.

“With the spirit of building a rugged society, Singaporeans have transformed their country into a global hub for trade, finance, shipping and aviation in just over half a century,” Mr Cao said.

As close neighbours, China and Singapore have enjoyed time-honoured friendly exchanges, he added.

“I will do my utmost and work with friends from all walks of life in Singapore to make ‘high quality’ the most distinct feature of China-Singapore cooperation,” he said.

During an official visit by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean to Beijing last week, Mr Cao was introduced as the Chinese Ambassador to Singapore-designate.

Born in 1965 in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Mr Cao focused his diplomatic career mainly on African affairs, starting as an attache in 1989 at the Department of African Affairs in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He then held various posts within the ministry, including as ambassador to Mali and as the ministry’s director-general of the Department of Personnel.

Mr Cao was most recently ambassador to Belgium.

In his remarks on March 24, Mr Cao said China and Singapore will strengthen comprehensive and innovative cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, green and digital economies, food security, financial sector, aviation and people-to-people exchanges, according to the embassy statement. In particular, the two sides will work together in new fields such as digital transformation to further unlock growth opportunities, he said.

Mr Cao added that China-Singapore relations “are always forward-looking, strategic and demonstrative, which not only gives strong boost to the development and prosperity of the two countries, but also sets a benchmark for countries in the region”.

Singapore and China established formal diplomatic relations in October 1990.

Separately, Mr Liu Jianchao, who heads the International Department of the Communist Party of China, is visiting Singapore from March 25 to 28 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

In a statement on March 25, MFA said Minister Liu’s visit “builds on the positive momentum of bilateral high-level visits, as well as multifaceted exchanges at the government-to-government and people-to-people levels, including party-to-party exchanges”.

His visit will also be a good opportunity for both sides to reaffirm the good progress made in bilateral relations, and to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, MFA said.

During his visit, Mr Liu will call on PM Lee, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, and Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat.

Dr Balakrishnan will host Mr Liu to dinner.