DPM Heng meets China’s Vice-President Han Zheng in Beijing (2025)

BEIJING - Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat met Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng in Beijing on March 26, as they reflected on the momentum of bilateral projects in the 35th year since diplomatic ties were established.

Apart from the 35th anniversary, DPM Heng noted that 2025 also marks the 10th anniversary of the youngest of three government-to-government projects – the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, named after the municipality in south-western China.

“We also commemorated Tianjin’s (Eco-City) 15 years the year before, and last year, the Suzhou (Industrial Park’s) 30th anniversary,” DPM Heng said at the start of their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Mr Han remarked that the cooperation between the two countries “can be said to be forward-looking”. He said: “We have achieved some tangible results for our bilateral relations and have made due contributions to the development of our region and the world.”

Mr Han reported that the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, launched in 2017 to promote the development of China’s inland regional economies, has done “very well”.

The corridor is used to move goods using a combination of land, air, rail and sea passageways, through Chongqing to Guangxi’s ports and onward to Singapore, and vice versa. It comes under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to link China with the rest of the world.

The two leaders, no strangers to each other, had previously met during DPM Heng’s last official visit to China in April 2024.

As counterparts, both had helmed four editions of the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC)meeting from 2019 to 2022, including two held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The JCBC is the top-level meeting for bilateral cooperation and is typically headed by the first-ranked deputy prime ministers.

At their latest meeting, the two leaders exchanged words of appreciation.

“You have contributed significantly to the deepening of the relationship between China and Singapore,” DPM Heng said, calling Mr Han “an old friend”.

Similarly, Mr Han said to DPM Heng: “Every time I have discussions with you, you speak from the bottom of your heart about some ideas and suggestions to promote bilateral relations.”

In a Facebook post on March 26, DPM Heng said he and Mr Han agreed that an open, rules-based international order was beneficial to growth and development globally, including in Asean.

“There is also potential to further strengthen our collaborations to tackle common challenges facing humanity, including demographics change and ageing populations,” he wrote.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said both leaders took stock of the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation, exchanged views on both countries’ socio-economic policies, and discussed global and regional developments.

DPM Heng is on a four-day working visit to China that began on March 24. On March 25, he met Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao, visited Peking Union Medical College Hospital and sat in a self-driving car in Baidu’s Apollo Park, where he met the tech giant’s chief executive, Mr Robin Li. Baidu is among major players vying to scale up commercial self-driving taxis, or robotaxis, in China.

Later on March 26, DPM Heng attended a forum organised by Lianhe Zaobao. The Chinese-language daily is marking 30 years since it went online in 1995, with initiatives such as introducing a dedicated South-east Asia commentary section and enhancing its mobile app.

In 2025, Zaobao will also co-organise media engagement activities with universities in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to share about the role of Singapore’s Chinese-language media.

In his speech, DPM Heng said that Zaobao has maintained an objective and independent editorial stance in the face of competitive pressures. Chinese political and business leaders have told him that they read the paper frequently for its accurate and neutral reporting.

He had a fireside chat with Ms Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of the Chinese Media Group at SPH Media, on ageing in Asian countries. He spoke on questions such as the effect of ageing societies on economic competitiveness and whether China will get old before it gets rich.

On the latter, he said China still has room to increase its retirement ages to grow its workforce, which will contribute to economic growth. China approved legislation in 2024 to raise its retirement ages – among the lowest globally – over a 15-year period starting from 2025.

When asked a personal question on how he sees himself at 80 years old, DPM Heng, who is 63, said the most important thing is to maintain physical and mental health.

“I hope I can continue to make contributions,” he said, adding that the job that gave him the biggest satisfaction during his more than four decades in public service and politics was when he was education minister from 2011 to 2015.

On March 26, DPM Heng also visited the National Library of China, where he witnessed the presentation of a set of 60 books as part of the Singapore National Library Board’s Gift of Books project to mark SG60, Singapore’s 60th year of independence.

The National Library Board and China’s National Library have concluded an agreement to facilitate the loan of Ming and Qing dynasty literary classics from China to be exhibited in Singapore, MFA said.

• Lim Min Zhang is China correspondent at The Straits Times. He has an interest in Chinese politics, technology, defence and foreign policies.

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