China’s Vice President Wang Qishan made an official visit to Singapore from Mon to Wed (5-7 Nov).
Wang Qishan is seen as one of the closest and most feared ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is one of the leading figures behind China’s Foreign Affairs.
Between 2012 and 2017, Wang served as the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption body. He was instrumental in carrying out President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign, jailing dozens of senior officials including the fearsome domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, now serving life in jail.
On Tue (6 Nov), PM Lee accompanied by DPM Teo Chee Hean together with other Singapore ministers and officials, as well as Ho Ching, personally went to greet Wang at St Regis where he was staying. The group sat down to discuss various issues.
According to a statement from MFA:
Prime Minister Lee and Vice President Wang discussed the broad and substantial cooperation between our two countries which was built upon the strong foundations laid by earlier generations of leaders. They welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations to upgrade the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. Vice President Wang also spoke about the developments in China. Both leaders exchanged views on key global and regional developments, including Sino-US relations, and expressed support for an inclusive, free and open, rules-based multilateral trading system.
It’s not known if non-bilateral issues like investments were discussed, since this would a topic of interest to Ho Ching as CEO of Temasek Holdings.
PM Lee then hosted a lunch for VP Wang and his delegates. It’s not known if VP Wang had also brought his wife along to attend the official luncheon.