Singapore

On November 12, 2018, Singapore’s "Lianhe Zaobao" published an article signed by Premier Li Keqiang "Open Cooperation, Innovative Development, Tomorrow Will Be Better", the full text is as follows:

    Open cooperation, innovation and development, tomorrow will be better

    Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

    Many people say that Singapore is a country with unique charm, not only because of its beautiful scenery and its reputation as a "garden country", but also because Singapore has not been established for a long time, but has broken through the limitations of natural conditions and resource endowments. Become an important financial and shipping center in the world. This is the first time I set foot on this land as the Premier of the State Council of China, and I am full of expectations. I also brought the friendship and sincere greetings from the Chinese people to the Singaporean people.

    China and New Zealand have maintained close exchanges and cooperation in various fields has progressed steadily. President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Singapore in 2015, and the two countries established an all-round cooperative partnership that keeps pace with the times. I hope that through this visit, I hope to work with New Zealand to promote cooperation between the two countries in various fields to a higher level.

    Confucius said that if one wants to stand up, one can stand up; if one wants to achieve, one can become one. We congratulate Singapore for what it has achieved and wish you even greater success in the future. We hope that China and Singapore will see each other's development as their own opportunities, because we believe that through mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, countries in the world, including China and Singapore, can achieve common development and make the world a better place.

    Looking back, opening up has contributed to the development of China and Singapore. China's tremendous development achievements in the past 40 years of reform and opening up benefited from opening up, as well as its integration into the world economy and global trade. Singapore is based on trade, and open and free trade is the foundation of Singapore's life.

    Openness must be persisted, because it is not only a means, but also a concept, and it often takes trials to become firmer. Faced with the current challenges brought about by the rise of protectionism and unilateralism, we should join hands to send a positive signal to jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization as the core, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and jointly advocate Open up, practice openness, adhere to openness, and build an open world economy.

    Openness must be tolerant. Without tolerance, openness will be unsustainable. Singapore is an inclusive and diverse society, where different ethnic groups, religions, and cultures coexist in harmony. Chinese culture is a culture of "harmony without difference" and "inclusiveness". Reform and opening up is also a process of mutual learning and mutual learning between China and other countries. Tolerance is also the common behavior of China and New Zealand. We both adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in handling relations between nations, and both support the promotion of regional cooperation in accordance with the "ASEAN approach."

    In fact, China's continuous expansion of opening up is also a process of continuous upgrading of China-New Zealand practical cooperation, and mutual benefit and win-win have run through China-New Zealand cooperation from beginning to end. In the process of China's reform and opening up, many of Singapore's successful experiences have been borrowed. Singapore has also benefited a lot from its deep participation in China's reform and opening up. China has become Singapore's largest trading partner for five consecutive years. Singapore is China's largest source of new foreign investment, the second largest investment destination, and an important offshore RMB center.

    The door of China's opening up has been opened. It will not close, but will only open wider and wider. We welcome Singapore to seize the opportunities brought about by China's new round of opening-up and work with China to promote the upgrading of China-Singapore practical cooperation.

    We are willing to promote China’s “Belt and Road” initiative to better align with Singapore’s development strategy, work together to create three platforms for interconnection, financial support, and tripartite cooperation, and accelerate the development of strategic interconnection demonstration projects in Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-city, and Chongqing. Quality development, and continue to promote the construction of the "New Land-Sea Channel". During my visit to Singapore this time, the two countries will sign an upgrade protocol to the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which will greatly enhance the level of trade facilitation between the two sides. China welcomes Singaporean companies to continue to expand investment in China to better achieve common development.

    A country cannot achieve development without innovation. To deepen the mutual benefit and win-win situation between China and New Zealand, the innovation cooperation between the two countries also needs to be accelerated. During this visit, the two parties will upgrade Guangzhou Knowledge City to a national-level project and expand cooperation in areas such as technological innovation, high-end manufacturing, and intellectual property protection. This year is the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation. China is willing to support New Zealand’s initiative and actively participate in the construction of the ASEAN Smart City Network.

    In the past three years, Singapore, as a coordinator of China-ASEAN relations, has played an active role in promoting bilateral cooperation. China firmly supports the construction of the ASEAN Community, supports ASEAN’s central position in regional cooperation, and is willing to work with relevant parties to accelerate the negotiation of the “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” to promote the success of this year’s East Asian Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting. We are willing to accelerate consultations with ASEAN countries on the text of the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea" and jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. China and ASEAN should build a closer community with a shared future to promote peace and prosperity in East Asia.

    Gou Rixin, day by day, and day by day. Facing the future, we are willing to work with New Zealand to uphold the spirit of openness and inclusiveness, uphold the concept of mutual benefit and win-win, promote the rapid development of cooperation between the two countries, and create a better tomorrow for bilateral relations and China-ASEAN cooperation.