On December 7, 2023, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Ding Xuexiang met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Singapore Lawrence Wong in Tianjin. They co-chaired the 19th meeting of the China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, the 24th meeting of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council (JSC), the 15th meeting of the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City JSC and the 7th meeting of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity JSC.

During the meeting, Ding Xuexiang said that this year is of special significance to the development of China-Singapore relations. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong jointly elevated bilateral relations to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership, which has charted the course for the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields in the new era. The two sides need to closely focus on the new positioning of China-Singapore relations, make good use of the meeting platform of the bilateral cooperation mechanism, strengthen the forward-looking guidance of the development strategy synergy, promote the upgrading of existing cooperation, explore more new growth areas for cooperation, constantly create new patterns of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Singapore in the new era, and jointly implement the important common understandings of the leaders of the two countries.

Lawrence Wong said that Singapore and China relations enjoy a strong momentum of development, and Belt and Road cooperation has yielded fruitful results. The Singaporean side is willing to work with China to further strengthen exchanges at all levels, deepen the synergy of development strategies, give full play to the role of Singapore-China bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and push for new development in bilateral relations. The two sides need to jointly promote free trade and regional openness and inclusiveness.

On the same day, Ding Xuexiang and Lawrence Wong co-chaired four bilateral cooperation mechanism meetings. The two sides thoroughly took stock of China-Singapore practical cooperation, had a full exchange of views on Belt and Road cooperation, economic, trade and sustainable development cooperation, innovation cooperation, financial cooperation, public health and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and national bilateral cooperation programs, and planned cooperation directions and priorities in the next stage. The two sides agreed to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, continue to expand and strengthen the building of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, deepen cooperation in third-party markets, upgrade key cooperation projects, actively expand cooperation in digital economy, ocean energy and other fields, build a pattern of diversified and interactive people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and jointly uphold the multilateral trading system.

After the meeting, Ding Xuexiang and Lawrence Wong jointly witnessed the presentation of China-Singapore cooperation outcomes. The two sides announced 24 outcomes, including a protocol to further upgrade the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and a 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement for ordinary passport holders.

Ding Xuexiang and Lawrence Wong also visited the achievement exhibition of the 15th anniversary of the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City together, planted the China-Singapore friendship tree, and attended the ground-breaking ceremony of Green Innovation Park, the main center of the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

Chen Min'er was present at the above events.