China, Singapore committed to all-round cooperation, deeper political mutual trust: spokesman

China and Singapore are committed to all-round cooperation and deeper political mutual trust, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

Guo made the remarks in response to a media query about Chinese Premier Li Qiang's official visit to Singapore.

"Premier Li Qiang paid a successful official visit to Singapore from Oct. 25 to 26. During the visit, he met and had talks with Acting President Eddie Teo and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and attended the China-Singapore Business Roundtable together with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong. The visit achieved fruitful outcomes and bears great significance to enriching and developing the China-Singapore all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership," Guo said.

"The two sides are committed to all-round cooperation and deeper political mutual trust. This year marks the 35th anniversary of China-Singapore diplomatic relations. The two sides will follow the strategic guidance of the leaders, cherish the commitment made when establishing diplomatic ties, carry forward the traditional friendship, and deepen and add more substance to bilateral relations. Singapore reiterated its commitment to the one-China principle and firm opposition to 'Taiwan secession,'" Guo said.

"The two sides are committed to the characterization of developing high-quality partnership and mutual benefit. The two countries will work for more achievements in key cooperation projects, including the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park and the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City. The two sides will improve and upgrade their cooperation from complementing production factors to joint innovation, from bilateral to tripartite cooperation, and from participating in global division of labor to jointly taking the lead in rules-making," Guo continued. "The two sides are committed to the 'future-oriented' direction and greater synergy of strategies. Premier Li Qiang stressed that the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, which was deliberated over and adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, provide important opportunities for China-Singapore cooperation in the coming years. Singapore extended congratulations on the successful convening of the fourth plenary session and expressed the hope that the 15th Five-Year Plan will benefit the region and beyond. The two sides reiterated that they will uphold multilateralism and free trade and jointly work for greater development," Guo said.

"The development of China and Singapore creates important opportunities for each other. China stands ready to work with Singapore to uphold mutual respect, mutual trust and open cooperation, share development outcomes and create a better future while helping each other succeed, and make greater contribution to regional peace, stability and development," Guo said.

China, Singapore committed to all-round cooperation, deeper political mutual trust: spokesman

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar