Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister of foreign affairs for Singapore, spoke with Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee’s Political Bureau and director of that office, over the phone today.
Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang emphasized the recent upgrade to an “All- Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership” in April of this year while reiterating the long-standing and significant relationship between Singapore and China. The officials expressed their satisfaction with the ongoing improvement in flight connectivity between Singapore and China and their eagerness to strengthen inter-person interactions. Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Ding Xuexiang, PRC Executive Vice Premier, Minister Balakrishnan, and Director Wang announced their commitment to further collaboration at a productive 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation later in the year.
Minister Balakrishnan and Director Wang discussed regional and international issues in addition to bilateral issues. Minister Balakrishnan praised recent interactions between U.S. President Joe Biden and PRC President Xi Jinping outside of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders ‘Meeting as evidence for the improvement in US-China relations. During their conversation, the officials also discussed various aspects of the Middle Eastern situation.
