SM Lee Hsien Loong meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing

BEIJING – Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Nov 26.

The two chatted as they walked into Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, with SM Lee saying that he took the high-speed rail from Suzhou to Beijing, which took four hours.

“Very comfortable and very convenient,” Mr Lee said in Mandarin to a smiling Mr Xi as they took their seats across from each other.

Mr Xi said he was happy to see Mr Lee again. “In any case, we used to meet often in the past,” the President said.

Mr Xi also welcomed Mr Lee in his new role as senior minister.

“Internationally and in Asia, you are considered a veteran politician,” said Mr Xi.

Whether it is the achievements that Singapore has made or in promoting international or regional cooperation, Mr Lee has made important contributions, Mr Xi added.

Mr Xi congratulated Mr Lee on the successful transition of power in the Singapore leadership in May.

“You are the Chinese people’s old friend, good friend, and you have had a long-term interest in and support for China-Singapore cooperation,” said Mr Xi.

SM Lee started his China visit in Suzhou in Jiangsu province, where he officiated commemorative events to mark the 30th anniversary of the government-to-government flagship project Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP).

It came shortly after his working visit to Boston and New York in the United States, which had just sewn up a presidential election in which Donald Trump was re-elected.

This is the first time President Xi is hosting SM Lee to a meal while in China.

Mr Lee is visiting China for the first time in his new capacity as a senior minister, after stepping down as prime minister in May. In his 20 years as Singapore’s prime minister, he had visited China 14 times, making him one of the most frequent visiting foreign leaders.

The last time Mr Lee and Mr Xi met was when Mr Lee visited in March 2023. He had made a stop in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and delivered a speech at the Bo’ao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan province. He then called on Mr Xi and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, and both countries upgraded their relationship to one that is described as an “all-round, high-quality, future-oriented partnership”.

That trip was also seen as an opportunity for Mr Lee to let the Chinese leaders know that Mr Lawrence Wong would soon take over as prime minister.

Mr Wong, then still deputy prime minister and finance minister, soon made an official trip in May 2023, when he met Premier Li, first-ranked Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, Finance Minister Liu Kun and Minister Li Ganjie, the head of the Communist Party of China’s powerful Central Organisation Department, which controls party personnel appointments.

While Mr Wong has yet to make an official visit to China since taking over as prime minister, he recently met Mr Xi on the sidelines of the Apec meeting in Lima, Peru. Both leaders had discussed cooperation in the green and digital economies, as well as regional and international developments.

On Nov 26, Mr Lee also met Mr Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body. Mr Wang is ranked fourth out of the seven members in the apex decision-making Politburo Standing Committee.

Mr Lee will end his visit in Shanghai, where he will meet and be hosted to lunch by Shanghai party chief Chen Jining, and attend a reception for overseas Singaporeans.

Mr Lee is accompanied by Mrs Lee, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Education Minister and Minister-in-charge of the SIP Chan Chun Sing. Also in the delegation are Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling.