BEIJING - Exchanges between government and party officials of Singapore and China have boosted the Republic’s understanding of China, and allow both countries to work together on a deeper level, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Speaking with China’s Central Party School president Chen Xi on March 21, Mr Teo noted that “there is a very long list of activities” in human resource development between the two countries, as well as between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People’s Action Party (PAP).
This includes the annual high-level Singapore-China Forum on Leadership that both nations take turns to host. The ninth and latest iteration was held in Beijing in September 2023 and co-chaired by Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.
Mr Teo said exchanges between the two political parties allow each side to learn from the other’s experiences, and provide insight into each party’s objectives and how each works to lead their respective countries forward.
Singapore also gains a better understanding of China, allowing for deeper bilateral cooperation, said the minister, who is on a six-day official visit to China that started on March 17.
Referring to such people-to-people exchanges, Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said: “I think this is one of the characteristics that make for a very close relationship between our two countries.”
When Singapore officials visit China, they do not just go to first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen and “say we have visited China”, he said.
“We want to understand China more deeply, come to the provinces, understand what you’re doing in the party school, what are the key priorities that you have. And how you’re addressing those priorities.
“This provides a much deeper understanding and provides a firmer foundation for both sides to work together,” he told Mr Chen during a meeting at the school. Located in Beijing’s north-western Haidian district, the school trains cadres in subjects ranging from political ideology to party history and public policy.
Mr Teo’s official visit had included stops in Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces, where he met representatives of Singapore businesses as well as Le Le, the two-year-old Singapore-born panda cub who is now at Dujiangyan Panda Base in Sichuan.
Mr Teo and Mr Chen last met in person in April 2019, when they co-chaired the 7th Singapore-China Forum on Leadership in Yan’an city, Shaanxi province, and held a bilateral meeting. They also met via videoconference before the 8th Singapore-China Forum on Leadership in October 2021.
Started in 2009, the forum allows political leaders and senior officials from both sides to discuss common challenges related to leadership development. It is among the high-level platforms for Singapore-China exchanges, along with the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meetings and the Singapore-China Legal and Judicial Roundtable.
Mr Chen, who previously headed the organisation department of the CPC Central Committee, greeted Mr Teo with a hug before their meeting, and said in his opening remarks that the development of China-Singapore relations is of high priority for his country.
Mr Chen noted that the school has carried out a “wealth of exchanges” over the years with Singapore institutions, including the National University of Singapore, Civil Service College and the PAP’s women and youth wings.
“I hope that in the future, with your support, the two sides can work together to implement the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, and continue to strengthen the exchange of experience in governance and mutual understanding,” he said.
The Singapore delegation that took part in the meeting included Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Manpower Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and National Development Tan Kiat How, and Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.
Mr Teo is expected to meet other senior Chinese officials in Beijing on the last day of his visit on March 22.
