SM Lee & cabinet ministers to make official visit to China from Nov. 24 to 29, 2024

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make an official visit to Suzhou, Beijing and Shanghai from Nov. 24 to 29, 2024.

He will meet President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and Vice Premier of the State Council He Lifeng.

He will be accompanied by other ministers, including Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.

During his tenure as prime minister, SM Lee made more than 10 trips to China, and is one of China's most frequently visiting foreign leaders.

His last trip was during March 2023.

Itinerary

Suzhou

SM Lee and He will participate in commemorative activities for the 30th anniversary of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), which is the first government-to-government project between Singapore and China.

He will then be hosted to lunch by He, and deliver remarks at the roundtable on "High Quality Development in the SIP".

SM Lee will also visit the SIP 30-Year Achievement exhibition, participate in a tree-planting ceremony, and visit the exhibition centres of new joint projects by Singapore companies in the SIP.

Beijing

The former prime minister will call on and be hosted to dinner by Xi.

He will also meet Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning.

Shanghai

SM Lee will be hosted to lunch by the prominent leadership, and will also meet overseas Singaporeans in Shanghai.

Shanghai is a key port of call for Singapore companies keen to expand into the Chinese market, with local companies such as CapitaLand, Keppel and DBS having invested into the city.

Trade between Singapore and Shanghai has increased by 15 per cent in the first half of 2024, driven by strong export growth from the latter to the former.

As of June 2023, Singapore is Shanghai's largest foreign investor, with cumulative actual investments reaching approximately S$34.9 billion in the first half of 2024.

As of end-2022, Shanghai is also Singapore’s second largest investment destination in China, behind Jiangsu province.

Investments from Singapore are largely concentrated in the real estate, financial services, manufacturing, lifestyle and consumer sectors.

Will be accompanied by various ministers

SM Lee will be accompanied by the following ministers during his visit:

• Vivian Balakrishnan
• Chan Chun Sing
• Sim Ann
• Low Yen Ling

They will also be accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade & Industry, and the Prime Minister’s Office.

Top photo via MDDI