Vice president arrives in Singapore for visit
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Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Singapore on Sunday, kicking off his official visit to Singapore.
Xi made the visit as a guest of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Singapore is the first leg of Xi's four-nation trip to Asia and Africa, and he will also visit South Africa, Angola and Botswana.
In a written speech upon his arrival, Xi said China and Singapore are two friendly neighbors and the two sides boast profound friendship.
The vice president hailed the smooth development of bilateral relations over the past decades. He said that the smooth development of bilateral ties has not only brought substantial benefits to both Chinese and Singapore peoples, but also contributed to the regional peace and development at large.
During his stay in Singapore, Xi is scheduled to hold meetings and talks with Singapore President Sellapan Ramanathan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and other leaders.
Xi is also set to unveil a monument commemorating late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, to attend a founding ceremony for a Chinese culture center, and to address a reception marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore.
Xi said in his written speech that his current visit was aimed to consolidate traditional friendship, expand strategic mutual trust, deepen substantial cooperation and boost common development.
Xi said he hoped that his visit would further consolidate and strengthen the friendship with Singapore, and elevate the China- Singapore relations to a new level.
China and Singapore established diplomatic relations in 1990.
From 1990 to 2009, the bilateral volume has expanded from 2.82 billion U.S. dollars to 47.87 billion U.S. dollars.
Currently, China is Singapore's third biggest trading partner and Singapore is China's ninth biggest trading partner.
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