China's transformation is an 'economic miracle', close ties between leaders set tone for overall relationship: PM Wong

On the eve of his first official visit to China as Singapore's Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong spoke with Chinese media outlet CCTV, discussing Singapore's relationship with China and the turbulent world that both countries find themselves in.

The interview was conducted by CCTV host Zou Yun, who opened the conversation by congratulating PM Wong on his first year as PM and the results of May's general election, where PM Wong and the PAP secured a comfortable victory and an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

They spoke about PM Wong's expectations for the upcoming visit, during which PM Wong is scheduled to meet with China's President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, as well as the Chairman of the National People's Congress, Zhao Leji.

PM Wong said that he had made it a point to visit China almost every year in the 14 years since he entered politics; finding it useful to regularly to meet and interact with his Chinese counterparts, as well as to gain a sense of how China was developing.

And while his visits to China have traditionally  been good, he considered the upcoming trip special as it was the first time he was making the journey as PM.

Leadership ties sets the tone

He outlined three objectives for his trip: firstly, to establish closer ties with China's leaders, particularly Xi and Li; and secondly, to reaffirm China-Singapore bilateral ties as both countries commemorated the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The third objective would be to discuss regional and global developments that "we are all confronting during this challenging period", and how to work together to "strengthen multilateralism and the rules-based global order".

At the interviewer's behest, PM Wong recounted his first interaction with Xi as Singapore's PM in November 2024, when they met briefly on the sidelines of APEC.

PM Wong noted that multilateral forums made bilateral meetings challenging due to tight schedules but that both men had a brief but "very productive" meeting.

He reflected on the development of the China-Singapore bilateral relationship, which had been upgraded to an "All-Round High-Quality Future-Orientated partnership" in 2023 and had begun with Deng Xiaoping and founding PM Lee Kuan Yew.

Successive leaders of both Singapore and China had built on that strong foundation to build "close rapport and trust with their Chinese counterparts", something that PM Wong aimed to continue as he believed "close ties at the leadership level sets the tone for the overall relationship".

Future-orientated optimism

The close relationship was seen in the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the apex body that oversees several "multifaceted and comprehensive" bilateral projects.

A Singaporean deputy prime minister usually co-chairs the JCBC with a member of China's politburo, in recent years, China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.

PM Wong recounted his time as co-chair of the JCBC, a role now entrusted to Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, adding that the JCBC's agenda continued to grow as projects between the two countries continued to expand and increase.

PM Wong said that it was not just the number of projects that were increasing, but they continued to be "high in quality" and "future-orientated".

"And with the close partnership we have, I am optimistic that the future of our cooperation is bright, and there are many more things we can do together."

Economic miracle

CCTV's interviewer asked PM Wong about his experiences, having travelled extensively throughout China over several years, asking what the major changes and transformations that he had seen, particularly in terms of "China's development and modernisation that you think are inspirational to you in governing a nation".

He also brought up a comment made by PM Wong in January 2024, when he said, "Never bet on the decline of China", asking what factors gave PM Wong confidence in Chinese economic performance, "especially amid global headwinds".

PM Wong said that he considered the transformation and success of China to be "nothing short of an economic miracle".

He noted that in his travels throughout China over the past two decades, he could see the "determination and the drive" of the Chinese people, and he continued "to wish China every success in its ongoing transformation and modernisation efforts."

But PM Wong also lauded Chinese leadership at multiple levels, whether mayors, governors, party secretaries, and also central leadership in Beijing, who had impressed him with their competence and "deep mastery of issues", but also with their "willingness to listen and to be open-minded about finding better solutions".

Governments, PM Wong said, "never get everything right", but a high-quality system was distinguished by the "ability to reflect, learn, and keep on improving", something that he saw in China.

But he once again lauded the "people of China", giving credit to their "tremendous ingenuity and resourcefulness, the deep drive to succeed, to strive and work hard, and that gives me confidence that China will continue to have a good future ahead".

Reform, Change, Improve

While in China, PM Wong will attend the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, colloquially known as "Summer Davos", after the WEF's winter gathering of world and business leaders.

PM Wong, noting that the world was in the "midst of profound global change", said that his message at Tianjin would be "the importance of upholding a rules-based multilateral order".

He said that without rules or longstanding norms of cooperation, countries everywhere will be "worse off".

He noted that small countries like Singapore, with limited bargaining power, risked being "sidelined and squeezed" by bigger powers.

However, bigger powers would also be impacted, as a fragmented, suspicious, and mistrustful world, characterised by great uncertainty and volatility, would lead to slower growth and higher inflation —a situation that would affect all countries.

Something had to be done.

Acknowledging the imperfections of multilateralism, PM Wong nonetheless said it should not be abandoned but instead to "reform, change, improve" the multilateral system and "make the system work better for the benefit of all countries".

Top image via Terrance Tan/MDDI