Chinese Vice-Premier on official visit

Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli will make an official visit to Singapore from today to Wednesday at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean.

Mr Teo will host a welcome dinner for Mr Zhang tonight.

Tomorrow, Mr Teo and Mr Zhang will co-chair the 12th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the 17th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) Joint Steering Council and the Eighth Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC) Joint Steering Council meetings, according to a joint press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of National Development.

The JCBC meeting will discuss existing and new areas of bilateral co-operation, including the proposed third government-to-government project in China's western region and the upgrade of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

The SIP and SSTEC joint steering council meetings will review the progress of these two government-to-government projects and discuss the directions for future development.

Mr Teo and Mr Zhang will jointly witness the signing of several bilateral agreements after the JCBC and joint steering council meetings.

During his visit, Mr Zhang will call on President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and meet Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Mr Zhang will also visit Changi Airport to understand how Singapore has positioned itself as a leading international air hub.

This article was first published on October 12, 2015.
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