New Chinese ambassador to S'pore says she will make it her mission to bring 'peace & stability' to region

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Singapore now has a new ambassador from China.

According to an announcement on the Chinese embassy in Singapore, the 12th Chinese ambassador to Singapore, Sun Haiyan, arrived at the city-state on Monday night (May 16).

She was received at Changi airport by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and senior diplomats from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore.Speaking at the airport, she said she's "very happy to have come to the beautiful Lion City of Singapore", which is also the "pearl" that lies between two oceans (presumably the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea).

"The people of Singapore, through their hard work and wisdom, created the 'Singapore miracle' that the world has witnessed," she said.

She added that Singapore and China are "good neighbours which face each other across the sea". She also said Singapore has been actively taking part in China's developmental progress ever since China started on its path of economic reform.

Strengthening relations between Singapore and China

She further mentioned Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Singapore in 2015, which brought relations to a "new era" of multifaceted cooperation.

"Strategic mutual trust between both countries has deepened, pragmatic collaboration is ongoing, development interests are similar. This has not only benefited the people of both countries, but also the region and the world," she said.

In addition, Sun brought up the meeting between Singapore President Halimah Yacob and Xi in February during the Beijing Winter Olympics, citing Xi as saying that through strengthening bilateral cooperation, both countries can contribute to the prosperity of the region, as well as the peace and stability of the world.

She added that as the new Chinese ambassador to Singapore, she would make this her mission.

Sun, a law graduate from Peking University, entered the Chinese Communist Party central committee's International Liaison Department in 1997.

Up till her latest posting to Singapore, she was director of the First Bureau of the Liaison Department from 2018, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

According to The Beijing News, Sun's predecessor was Hong Xiaoyong, who previously served as China's ambassador to Vietnam.

The 61-year-old left his post in Singapore in March this year after four years on the job.

Top image adapted via Chinese embassy in Singapore