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China and Singapore pledged to uphold multilateralism and strengthen bilateral trade amid growing protectionism as Chinese Premier Li Qiang began his two-day visit to the city state on Saturday. The trip, the first visit by a Chinese leader to Singapore since 2018, comes as the two countries celebrate 35 years of diplomatic ties. The premier’s visit follows a June trip by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Currently, the multilateral trade system is facing severe challenges,” Li told Wong, according to a Chinese statement. “China is willing to work with Singapore to … oppose unilateralism and protectionism, uphold free trade and economic globalisation, and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction.” Li also said China was willing to maintain the positive momentum of bilateral investments, including enhancing key cooperative projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City, and welcomed more Singaporean enterprises to invest in China. Li added that he hoped Singapore would continue to support Chinese enterprises operating in the city state. Wong affirmed that Singapore was willing to strengthen multilateral collaboration with China and pledged to strengthen bilateral trade and investment links. According to a statement from Singapore’s foreign ministry, he expressed support for China’s Global Development Initiative, a plan focusing on poverty alleviation, public health and cooperation among developing countries in alignment with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The two leaders also spoke on cross-strait developments, with Wong reiterating that “Singapore has a clear and consistent one-China policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence”. After the talks, Li and Wong witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on strategic areas such as green development, the digital economy and maritime connectivity. The Chinese premier’s predecessor, the late Li Keqiang, was the last Chinese leader to travel to the city state. Xi Jinping has made one trip to Singapore as president, in 2015. Li will head to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) summit. His visit comes as relations between China and the US have grown increasingly volatile in recent weeks, with both sides exchanging more trade restrictions and threats. A temporary tariff truce between the two countries is set to expire next month. Tensions have since eased slightly, with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meeting for a new round of trade talks in Kuala Lumpur this weekend ahead of the Asean gathering. China’s trade with Asean – its biggest trading partner as a bloc – has continued to grow this year. The two parties are expected to sign an upgraded trade deal at the Asean summit.
