It seems that whatever China does, there is bound to be negative comment and suspicion ("Voices of dissent over Confucius Classrooms"; June 11).

For instance, when Mr Jack Ma of Alibaba bought one of Hong Kong's newspapers, there was suspicion that China might exert control over the paper.

Some have wondered why there were so many suspicions when he bought a paper, but not when others buy papers.

Similarly, when Chinese President Xi Jinping started his anti-corruption campaign, there were comments that it was an internal power play to remove his opponents.

Even the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, started by China, raised suspicions, even though its contribution forms only 30 per cent of the total investment.

When I studied at Xiamen University as an overseas student, an American college mate said foreign students had been told that every foreigner in China would be closely watched and followed by agents of the Chinese government.

This surprised me, as I frequently went out dining and drinking with my European college mates. We were free to move around without being followed, and met only friendly locals.

We should keep in mind that in the midst of criticism, China is constantly upgrading its people and infrastructure.

When Singaporeans visited their ancestral home towns in the past few years, they found new roads, even to the less-populated villages.

China also has the world's second-largest highway system, after the United States, in terms of mileage.

Sng Ah Beng