15 agreements.

This is the total number of agreements that Singapore and China signed in Beijing, as both countries strengthened bilateral cooperation in intellectual property rights protection, furthering collaboration in the biomedical industry, and the development of a transport and logistics hub.

Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Teo Chee Hean and Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, who co-chair the The Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting on Monday (Feb 27), witnessed the signing ceremony after they reviewed the progress made in three bilateral Government-to-Government (G-G) projects and discussed the prospects of future cooperation.

Since 2013, China has been Singapore’s largest trading partner, and Singapore has been China’s largest foreign investor. The annual JCBC meeting did not take place last year, prompting speculation that Singapore-China relations were cooling.

But there were signs of relations remaining warm. Lianhe Zaobao quoted Zhang Gaoli saying that DPM Teo is his "old friend and good friend". On behalf of China government, he had welcomed the Singapore delegation, which has "quite a number of young people".

Some of the core members of our next generation of leaders are now playing key roles in promoting Singapore-China relations.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing

As the Minister in charge of the third G-G project -- The Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI), he chaired the first Joint Steering Council (JSC) meeting on the project since it was launched in November 2015.

He was pictured in his discussion with DPM Teo and China Vice Premier Zhang at the sidelines of the JSC Meeting:

Chan also met with Chongqing Mayor Zhang Guoqing on Sunday (Feb 26), a day ahead of the JCBC meeting. They discussed the progress of the CCI and also spoke about new areas of cooperation, such as the newly approved Chongqing Free Trade Zone.