China, Singapore vow trade cooperation in sign of warmer ties

(June 12): China and Singapore pledged to cooperate on trade and regional infrastructure projects, in a sign the countries have begun to repair ties strained amid security disputes in Southeast Asia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan said Monday in a briefing in Beijing they reached agreement to work more closely on China’s “Belt and Road” trade and infrastructure initiative. Balakrishnan described ties as “strong” and said China’s relationship with Southeast Asia was “stable, calm and positive.”

“We had in depth talks and reached a lot of consensus on bilateral, regional issues and shared interests,” Wang said. “Both of us are of the view that, against the background of a backlash against globalization, China and Singapore, as the champions of regional integration, need to work together to address challenges and uphold common interests.”

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