PM Wong to visit Hainan, Hong Kong, and speak at Boao Forum
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Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Hainan and Hong Kong from March 25 to 28.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
- PM Wong visits Hainan to deliver a keynote speech at the Boao Forum for Asia, a platform for economic cooperation founded in 2001.
- Discussions at the forum will cover multilateralism, regional cooperation, innovation and AI, and inclusive development, amid global economic strain.
- PM Wong will then visit Hong Kong to meet with leaders, visit the Northern Metropolis, and reciprocate Chief Executive John Lee's 2023 visit.
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BOAO, Hainan – Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Hainan and Hong Kong from March 25 to 28, returning to China for his second visit in nine months.
In the southernmost Chinese province of Hainan, PM Wong will deliver a keynote speech at the opening plenary of the annual Boao Forum for Asia, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on March 24.
The Boao Forum for Asia was founded in 2001 as a regional platform for economic cooperation, the same year China joined the World Trade Organisation.
China has been hosting it annually in the town of Boao in Hainan.
Singapore was among the early participants, with then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong delivering the keynote speech in 2003. He continued attending the forum in his capacity as senior minister and, later, emeritus senior minister.
Mr Lee Hsien Loong, then prime minister of Singapore, attended the forum most recently in 2023.
The theme for 2026’s conference is “Shaping A Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation”, with discussions on four key areas: multilateralism, regional cooperation, innovation and artificial intelligence, and openness and inclusive development.
The conference is being held as the global economy faces renewed strain from oil price hikes due to the ongoing war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, clouding the outlook for inflation and growth.
These developments have added pressures to existing growing protectionism and geopolitical tensions in other parts of the world.
Singapore and China have extensive economic ties built over decades of cooperation.
China has been Singapore’s largest trading partner since 2013, while Singapore has been China’s largest source of new foreign investment over the same period. Two-way goods trade reached about $180 billion in 2025.
While in Hainan, PM Wong will attend a welcome dinner hosted by the Hainan government and the Boao forum’s secretariat.
He will also meet China’s National People’s Congress chairman Zhao Leji, the country’s third-ranking leader, and Hainan Communist Party secretary Feng Fei.
After Hainan, PM Wong will travel to Hong Kong in a visit that reciprocates Chief Executive John Lee’s trip to Singapore in 2023. The last time a Singapore prime minister visited Hong Kong was in 2014, when Mr Lee Hsien Loong made the trip.
PM Wong will meet Mr John Lee and other Hong Kong political and business leaders, said the PMO. He will also be hosted to lunch by Mr Lee.
PM Wong will visit the Northern Metropolis, a major development zone in northern Hong Kong expected to drive growth through closer integration with neighbouring Shenzhen city in Guangdong province.
The tour of the Northern Metropolis aims to deepen PM Wong’s understanding of Hong Kong’s development plans and explore new areas of collaboration, said the PMO.
He will also meet Singaporeans in Hong Kong at a reception.
PM Wong will be accompanied by Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and National Development Syed Harun Alhabsyi.
During PM Wong’s absence, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam will be the Acting Prime Minister.
