Xi, Singaporean president exchange congratulations on 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Friday exchanged congratulations on the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Noting that China and Singapore are friendly neighbors and important cooperation partners, Xi said that over the past 35 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have adhered to mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win cooperation.

The bilateral relationship has continuously improved and upgraded with cooperation in various fields yielding fruitful results, he said, adding that both sides have also advanced hand in hand in their respective modernization processes, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries.

China is willing to take the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to further deepen political mutual trust, promote high-level cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system and the basic norms governing international relations, so as to promote the all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership between China and Singapore, contributing even more to regional and global peace and prosperity, he added.

For his part, Shanmugaratnam noted that in 2023, Singapore-China relations were elevated to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership, and cooperation between the two governments continued to advance, constantly integrating new features and demonstrating foresight.

Responding to the demands of the times, both sides have actively expanded cooperation in new areas, while the peoples of the two countries have steadily strengthened cultural ties, Shanmugaratnam said, expressing firm belief that the two countries will continue to work closely together, pushing their bilateral relationship to new heights.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong exchanged congratulatory messages.

Li said that China is ready to further strengthen the alignment of development strategies with Singapore, deepen high-level cooperation across various fields, and work together to uphold the multilateral trading system, so as to contribute to the development of both countries and the prosperity and stability of the region.

For his part, Wong said that Singapore-China relations have continued to deepen over the years, with strong mutual trust built.

Singapore is willing to keep expanding cooperation with China in various fields and jointly safeguard free trade and the multilateral system, he added.

Xi, Singaporean president exchange congratulations on 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Xi, Singaporean president exchange congratulations on 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Xi, Singaporean president exchange congratulations on 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Xi, Singaporean president exchange congratulations on 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Spanish health authorities on Friday identified a second monitored contact linked to the hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship MV Hondius after tracing a woman living in Catalonia who had shared a flight with a Dutch traveler died from the virus.

Spain's Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies said the woman is asymptomatic and was initially missed during contact tracing because of a seat change on the aircraft.

According to health authorities, the woman now meets the criteria for monitored contact under a newly approved national surveillance protocol and will remain under medical observation.

This came after the suspected case of hantavirus detected in Alicante. Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla said on Friday that the health authorities had taken relevant measures.

In addition, Padilla confirmed that all 14 Spanish passengers aboard the MV Hondius had agreed to undergo voluntary quarantine measures in order to minimize the risk of further transmission.

The Dutch-operated expedition cruise ship, currently heading toward Spain's Canary Islands, has so far been linked to three deaths.

Padilla said a team from the Spanish Health Ministry would travel to Tenerife on Saturday ahead of the ship's expected arrival on Sunday.

Passengers are expected to disembark by small boats before being transferred under strict isolation measures. Spanish citizens aboard the vessel will be transported to Madrid for quarantine observation.

The British Health Security Agency announced Friday that a suspected hantavirus case has been detected on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, linked to the ongoing outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.

The vessel stopped at Tristan da Cunha between April 13 and 15.

Spain identifies second suspected hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak