Singapore’s PM-in-waiting Heng Swee Keat and 4G Leaders Visit China for High-level Talks

South China Morning Post

14 October 2019

Singapore’s younger ministers who are being primed to take power from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s administration on Monday began a four-day visit to China for high-level bilateral talks that analysts predict will be dominated by joint concerns about the bleak outlook for the global economy.

Heng Swee Keat, the deputy prime minister who has been designated as Lee’s successor, will for the first time take on the mantle of being co-chair to the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) – the highest level annual forum between the two countries.

Heng took over as the Singaporean co-chair of the JCBC from Teo Chee Hean, a long time deputy to Lee who stepped down from that position earlier this year to become a senior minister.

… Li Mingjiang, an associate professor of international relations at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the trade war between the world’s two superpowers “incentivised” greater economic cooperation between Beijing and the Lion City.

“What we see here is how both China and Singapore are negatively affected by the trade war, and both countries understand that there is a need to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation to help deal with the repercussions of the trade dispute,” said Li, who heads a China studies programme.

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Last updated on 18/10/2019