Building ties with China for new era

Not for nothing is it said that half of diplomacy is about showing up. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s just-concluded six-day China visit certainly was in part about that, even as some key agreements were concluded, critically a decision to upgrade bilateral ties to an “all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership”, and the announcement that talks have concluded for an upgraded free trade agreement (FTA) meant to further loosen up barriers on trade and investment. This builds on Singapore’s FTA with the world’s biggest exporter signed in 2009, and updated in 2018.

PM Lee has sought to visit China at least once a year but had been thwarted in that intention lately because the mainland had closed itself off after the Covid-19 outbreak began. His trip, which also took him to Hainan and Guangzhou, makes him one of the first global figures to visit after China’s near-complete reopening. It also resumes valuable direct contact with both enduring and new members who, at least for the next five years, will constitute the top edifice of the world No. 2 power. Easy familiarity with China’s top leadership is thus a bonus for tiny Singapore, especially as the geopolitical swells around Asia take on frightening dimensions.