ISTANBUL
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Sunday that Beijing is ready to work with Singapore and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to make the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 a “success.”
Li made the remarks while meeting Singapore's acting President Eddie Teo in Singapore, ahead of his trip to Malaysia to attend the ASEAN summit, state-run Xinhua News reported.
“China is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with Singapore within multilateral mechanisms, to work together to uphold multilateralism and free trade, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world as well as a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization,” Li said.
Li noted that China aims to strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication with Singapore, deepen political trust, and expand cooperation to foster steady, long-term bilateral relations that benefit both nations, the region, and the world.
He emphasized collaboration in areas such as the digital economy, green development, and artificial intelligence to boost both countries' modernization efforts.
For his part, Teo highlighted the long history of strong ties between China and Singapore, noting that this year’s 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations reflects the growing momentum of their partnership.
“Singapore is ready to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with China, intensify cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade and people-to-people exchanges, deepen the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership, promote the reform of the World Trade Organization and build an open world economy,” he said.