[BEIJING] Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrived in China on Tuesday (Dec 5) for a four-day official visit that will take him to the capital Beijing and its neighbouring city of Tianjin.

He is there on the invitation of Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, said a statement from Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

On Tuesday, Wong attended a reception for overseas Singaporeans at the China World Hotel in Beijing. About 300 Singaporeans, including students, businessmen and professionals, were there.

While in Beijing, Wong will also meet Premier Li Qiang and have separate meetings with Vice-Premier He Lifeng and Finance Minister Lan Fo’an.

In Tianjin, Wong and Ding will, for the first time, co-chair the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC). This is the apex bilateral meeting held annually to review collaboration between Singapore and China.

This is the first JCBC meeting to be held in China following the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also the first meeting since Singapore and China upgraded their bilateral relationship in March to an “all-round, high-quality, future-oriented partnership”, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

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Wong, whose last visit to China was in May this year, took over as JCBC co-chair that month from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Wong and Ding will also co-chair the joint steering committees for three government-to-government projects between Singapore and China – the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity.

The committees will review the progress of the three projects, and discuss further areas of cooperation, said PMO.

During his stay in Tianjin, Wong will attend activities marking the 15th anniversary of the Tianjin Eco-City. 

Launched in 2008, it is a platform for both countries to explore new collaborations, pilot new ideas and share best practices in sustainable development. Spanning 30 sq km, the city is now home to 150,000 people and 30,000 businesses.

Wong’s delegation in China includes 11 office-holders, including Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, and Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo.