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BEIJING — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will hold talks with top Chinese leaders and make his debut appearance at the annual Bo’ao Forum for Asia (BFA) during a five-day visit to China from Sunday (April 8).
The visit, which includes stops in Beijing, southern Hainan province, and financial centre Shanghai, is Mr Lee’s second trip to China in seven months. He last visited China in September 2017, just weeks before the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 19th Party Congress, a five-yearly leadership summit.
Mr Lee’s latest visit came at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who will meet and host the visiting Singapore leader to a working dinner on Sunday. They will witness the signing of two memorandums of understanding to further bilateral exchanges in third-party market cooperation and heritage administration.
In Beijing, Mr Lee will also hold talks with Vice President Wang Qishan, who is widely seen as President Xi Jinping’s right-hand man.
Mr Lee is one of the first foreign leaders to meet with Mr Wang since he was appointed Vice President in March. Mr Wang, who has been described as an “old friend of Singapore”, was previously China’s top graft-buster.
From Beijing, Mr Lee will travel to the coastal town of Bo’ao in Hainan where he will speak at the opening plenary of the BFA, along with several other foreign leaders.
Modelled after the World Economic Forum held yearly in Davos, Switzerland, the BFA gathers leaders from governments, businesses and academia in Asian countries and other parts of the world to discuss major regional and global issues.
Held annually since 2002, this year’s forum is set to discuss topics such as the digital revolution, innovations in transportation, the future of communications, the sharing economy, among others. Former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Member of Parliament Lee Yi Shyan are among the panelists for the discussions.
Mr Xi will attend the forum and is expected to deliver a speech on economic reforms and global trade. China and the United States are currently caught in an escalating trade dispute that has raised fears of an all-out trade war between the world’s top two economies.
Mr Lee will meet Mr Xi, as well as Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, on the sidelines of the forum.
Shanghai will be Mr Lee’s final stop, where he will be hosted to dinner by Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, a rising star in the current Chinese leadership.
While in Shanghai, Mr Lee will also speak at the DBS Asian Insights Conference as its guest-of-honour. This event is held in conjunction with the bank’s 50th anniversary, and the 25th year since its establishment in China.
Mr Lee will be accompanied on the trip by Madam Ho Ching, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, Minister for Education (Higher Education & Skills) Ong Ye Kung, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, and Social and Family Development Faishal Ibrahim.
https://www.todayonline.com/world/p...e-leaders-speak-boao-forum-during-china-visit
