China and Singapore pledged to cooperate on trade and regional infrastructure projects, in a sign the nations have begun to repair ties strained amid security disputes in Southeast Asia.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) and Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday said at a briefing in Beijing that they had reached an agreement to work more closely on China’s “One Belt, One Road” trade and infrastructure initiative.
Balakrishnan described ties as “strong” and said China’s relationship with Southeast Asia was “stable, calm and positive.”
“We had in-depth talks and reached a lot of consensus on bilateral, regional issues and shared interests,” Wang said. “Both of us are of the view that, against the background of a backlash against globalization, China and Singapore, as the champions of regional integration, need to work together to address challenges and uphold common interests.”
The remarks suggest that Singapore’s efforts to paper over diplomatic tensions with its largest trading partner are paying off. The city-state of 5.3 million had found itself in Beijing’s cross-hairs over its military ties with Taiwan, support for the US naval presence in the disputed South China Sea, and a perceived lack of support for the Belt and Road program.
Singapore did not receive a formal invitation from China to attend a Belt and Road summit last month, Bloomberg News reported. A shipment of Singaporean infantry carrier vehicles that had been used in military exercises in Taiwan was seized and held in Hong Kong for two months before being released in January.
Balakrishnan described Singapore as a “strong believer and supporter” of the Belt and Road plan, and pledged to establish a financial cooperation platform with China.
“China-Singapore relations are in good working order,” he said. “They are strong, with the potential to grow even stronger.”
The two nations accounted for US$66 billion in two-way trade last year, represented 13 percent of Singapore’s global total. Singapore is also China’s second-largest investor, with US$6.18 billion last year, according to official Chinese figures.
Wang said Singapore was an important clearance center for the yuan.
“To advance the Belt and Road initiative we need financing,” he said. “We hope that cooperation with Singapore will draw upon Singapore’s strengths as a financial center.”
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