Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Met Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng On Wednesday

CNA

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Wednesday, a day after Singapore and China signed 19 agreements to deepen cooperation. The agreements were signed at the 18th session of the Joint Council on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC). , co-chaired by Mr Han and Vice Premier Heng Swee Keat.

It is the highest annual forum between China and Singapore. This year's edition is the first physical gathering since the start of COVID-19, and Mr. Han is the  senior Chinese leader. The leader of will visit Singapore since the pandemic. "Your visit is an opportunity for our countries to take stock of our bilateral cooperation and chart the course for building a more prosperous future for our peoples in an increasingly uncertain global environment,"  Heng said. in a comment before meetings.

The bumper crop of 19 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and Memoranda of Understanding signed covered areas such as green development and  finance, e-commerce, public health, innovation cooperation and tourism exchanges.

Mr. Heng noted at a news conference on Tuesday that the newly signed agreements contain three broad themes, namely environment, digital and connectivity. The green agreements included initiatives to expand  green finance cooperation and deepen connectivity between the capital markets of the countries.

For example, a green finance task force is being set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the People's Bank of China. This would explore cooperation options  in areas such as green and transition finance solutions, data and technology enablers to catalyze green finance flows and improve green investment opportunities in China and the region.

At the end of the year, the stock exchanges of both countries will also jointly launch a family of low-carbon indices. This should serve as a benchmark for fund managers to launch new green funds with a focus on China, ASEAN and other countries. in Asia. In his op-ed, Mr. Heng said that beyond recovering from the pandemic, Singapore and China should also "revive" their cooperation. 

will  enable us to ride the waves of change with confidence," he added. Mr. Heng pointed out that this year's JCBC comes at a crucial time for the two countries and the world.

For China, the recently concluded 20th Party Congress heralds an important new chapter for the country and sets the blueprint for China's development in the years to come," he said. "Singapore looks forward to partnering with China to strengthen the recovery from the pandemic, reinvigorate our bilateral cooperation to seize new opportunities, and work with other countries to meet common challenges and build a brighter future for the region." and build the world.

Mr. Han also met with Deputy Prime Minister  Lawrence Wong on Tuesday. Both sides discussed  wide-ranging cooperation between Singapore and China, including cooperation through eight provincial economic councils, such as the Singapore-Shanghai Comprehensive Cooperation Council, of which Mr. Wong co-chairs has held since August 2019.

The economic councils are co-chaired by Singaporean ministers and Chinese governors in provinces such as Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu. "Green finance and digital economy that will bring benefits to  people and businesses in our two countries,"  Wong said on Facebook.