Chinese, Singaporean premiers seek to strengthen ties amid turbulent international landscape

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong on Monday discussed the need to seek to strengthen ties amid a turbulent international landscape, Singapore-based daily The Straits Times reported.

On his first visit to China as Singapore’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong told Premier Li Qiang at a meeting in Beijing that he hopes to keep building trust and understanding between their leaders, which form the foundation of their bilateral ties.

Both leaders spoke about the chaotic global environment and emphasized the importance of collaboration during these challenging times, agreeing to increase collaboration in the fields of digital economy, green economy, artificial intelligence (AI).

Li highlighted that the world is experiencing rapid change and disorder, with growing uncertainties and instability.

“Against this backdrop, I feel that it is especially crucial for China and Singapore, which are friendly and close neighbors, and important partners, to strengthen cooperation and exchanges,” Li said.

Wong agreed: “As you said just now, because we are living in a more uncertain and turbulent world, we should together find ways to cooperate not just between ourselves, but also in regional and multilateral platforms.”

Following their discussions, the two prime ministers jointly observed the signing of several cooperation agreements related to talent development, intellectual property rights, third-party collaboration, and more, according to a statement in Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

Throughout this five-day visit to China, ending on Thursday, Wong is also scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and National People’s Congress chairman Zhao Leji on Tuesday.