Head of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office | Han Zheng to visit Singapore for key annual bilateral meeting for first time

The Chinese vice-premier Han Zheng will attend the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean for the first time tomorrow, leading a delegation which includes senior officials, governors and mayors, The Straits Times reported.

Han, who was appointed to China’s most powerful seven-member Politburo Standing Committee headed by President Xi Jinping last October, is expected to review the progress of bilateral cooperation between China and Singapore with Teo and chart the direction of future partnerships.

Several deals will also be inked between the two countries. The Straits Times “understands they will be in the areas of arts, research, intellectual property and entrepreneurship.”

Singapore and China take turns to host the annual meeting, which is the highest-level forum for deepening ties between the two countries and into its 14th year. The two sides will also hold separate meetings to take stock of the three government-to-government projects – Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-city and Chongqing Connectivity Initiative – and discuss further developments, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday.

According to the newspaper, Han arrives in Singapore today for a three-day visit.

Singapore has been China’s top investor since 2013, and both countries share longstanding economic ties.

Han was previously mayor and later party secretary of Shanghai, where he was born. Since March this year, he has been the first vice-premier of the State Council, or Cabinet. He also oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs. MDT/TST