PM Lee visits southern China for update on its developments

IT'S been nearly a decade since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made his last official visit to southern China, so it would be timely to catch up with old friends and meet new ones there.

Many of these people are key political leaders and captains of industry in a region that spearheaded the opening of China. More importantly, it's a region that has strong historical and economic ties with Singapore.

Chinese statistics show Guangdong to be Singapore's top trading partner among China's provinces last year, for example.