Senior China official here for forum

SINGAPORE - MR ZHAO Leji, a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, was in Singapore at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

On Tuesday, they co-chaired the 4th Singapore-China Forum on Leadership. They delivered the opening addresses at the forum, where the theme is Fostering Integrity In Government.

Mr Zhao is a member of the CCP's elite Politburo and the head of its Organisation Department. He arrived on Monday on a three-day visit, along with a 23-member Chinese delegation.

During his visit, he will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and be hosted to dinner by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence.

Tuesday's forum, first hosted by China in 2009, would provide a strategic platform for political leaders and senior officials of both countries to meet and to engage on common challenges related to leadership development, said a joint statement by the Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two countries take turns hosting the forum.

The Chinese delegation, led by Mr Zhao, includes Mr Wang Jingqing, deputy head of the Organisation Department, Ambassador to Singapore Duan Jielong, and other senior government officials.

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