CHINA-SINGAPORE DEEPENING OF RELATIONS CONTINUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000853

SIPDIS

EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM CN SN
SUBJECT: CHINA-SINGAPORE DEEPENING OF RELATIONS CONTINUES

Classified By: CDA Daniel Shields for Reasons 1.4 (B and D).


1. (SBU) Summary: According to a September 2 Singapore MFA
readout, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, accompanied by 150
officials including two Ministers and 21 Vice Ministers,
visited Singapore August 23-26 to participate in the Sixth
Annual China-Singapore Joint Council (JCBC) for Bilateral
Cooperation. In addition to participating in the JCBC, Wang
also had bilateral meetings with Singapore's top leadership,
including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister Goh
Chok Tong, Senior Minister S. Jayakumar, Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister (and Minister for Home
Affairs) Wong Kan Seng. During the visit, bilateral MOUs
were signed on S&T Cooperation and Educational Exchanges.
Wang's visit to Singapore started just five days after
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo's August 18-25 visit to
China. FM Yeo met with PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and
Vice President Xi Jinping. FM Yeo and FM Yang discussed the
upcoming APEC meeting in Singapore, and agreed to strengthen
bilateral and regional cooperation. FM Yeo also visited
Qinghai and Tibet (by rail). While in Tibet, Yeo praised
China's efforts to manage ethnic tensions and said that
Singapore believes the March 14 riots in Lhasa were
instigated by Tibetans and that China was the victim. End
Summary.

Highest Ranking PRC Official to Visit Singapore This Year
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) Vice Premier Wang Qishan visited Singapore August
23-26 to participate in the sixth annual China-Singapore
Joint Council (JCBC) for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC). Wang
was accompanied by 150 officials, including the Minister of
Commerce and the Minister of the General Administration of
Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and 21
Vice Ministers, MFA Northeast Asia Deputy Director Catherine
Wong Siow Ping said during a briefing for U.S., French and
New Zealand Embassy officials September 2. Vice Premier Wang
is the highest ranking PRC official to visit Singapore this
year, and this was his first visit in his capacity as Vice
Premier (Wang visited Singapore in 1999 when he was the
Guangdong Province Vice Governor). Vice Premier Wang's visit
was one of the largest official visits Singapore has ever
hosted, MFA's Wong said. Wong said Singapore's leaders were
"quite impressed" with Wang's businesslike approach. Wang
"calls a spade a spade," MFA's Wong added.


3. (SBU) Vice Premier Wang told Singapore leaders that the
worst impact of the global economic crisis appear to be over
and he is cautiously optimistic that the Chinese economy has
already bottomed out and is turning in the right direction.
The PRC must continue its efforts to develop and expand its
domestic market, increase infrastructure development and
diversify trade, he said.

MOUs Signed on ST and Education Cooperation
--------------


4. (SBU) During the visit, PRC Vice Minister for Science and
Technology (MOST) Cao Jianlin and Singapore Minister of State
for Trade and Industry (MTI) Lee Yishyan signed an MOU that
laid out Intellectual Property guidelines for Science and
Technology research. PRC Ambassador to Singapore Zhang
Xiaokang and Singapore Education Ministry Second Permanent
Secretary Yeo Chee Yan signed an MOU that will annually
provide scholarships to eight civil servants in both
Singapore and China pursue masters degree programs in the
other country.

Expanding the Suzhou and Tianjin Models
--------------


5. (SBU) Singapore and PRC officials also reviewed progress
and exchanged ideas on future plans for the joint
Singapore-China Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and the Tianjin
Eco-City Project. MFA's Wong said the SIP has overcome its
initial hiccups and has enjoyed considerable success over the
last five years and that the project is ready to enter the
next phase. Wong said China and Singapore plan to set up
similar industrial parks, first in Jiangsu Province (where
Suzhou is located) and then eventually expand the project to
other provinces. Wong said a new focus is the introduction
of "green standards" at the industrial parks.


SINGAPORE 00000853 002 OF 002



6. (SBU) Wong said that while both sides are pleased with the
progress of the Tianjin Eco-City project, the project is
still in its initial stages and would likely experience
"teething problems" as the SIP did. Wong said the project
would eventually cover an area of 30 sq. kilometers and that
the initial 4 sq. kilometers should be completed within five
years. Like the SIP, China envisions the Tianjin Project
serving as a model for other Eco-City Projects. (Note: PRC
Vice Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing told the Straits
Times August 25 that China eventually wants to have 50
Eco-Cities around the country. End Note.)


7. (U) Wong said Singapore and China also agreed to conduct
the first annual review of their bilateral FTA sometime in

2010.

Yeo Compares Ethnic Tensions in Tibet and Singapore
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) During an eight-day trip to China, Singapore Foreign
Minister George Yeo met separately with PRC Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi and PRC Vice President Xi Jinping. FM Yeo and FM
Yang discussed the upcoming APEC meeting in Singapore, and
agreed to strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation, with
a focus on ASEAN Plus 3, the East Asia Summit and APEC, Wong
said. VP Xi and FM Yeo discussed deepening bilateral
ASEAN-China relations and exchanged views on plans for the
upcoming 20th anniversary (2010) of the establishment of
bilateral relations. Wong emphasized that FM Yeo's visit was
a routine visit to China. He tries to go every 12-18 months.



9. (U) In addition to Beijing, FM Yeo visited both Qinghai
and Tibet. Yeo took the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Railway
from Xining to Lhasa. While in Lhasa, Yeo met with Tibet
Autonomous Region (TAR) Deputy Party Secretary Hao Peng. Yeo
and Hao exchanged views on development and managing ethnic
tensions. Hao asked Singapore to assist in the development
of Tibet's tourism industry and urban management.


10. (C) Yeo said he was impressed with China's "great
investment in Tibet over the last thirty years." Tibet is an
important issue for both China and India and how India and
China manage their relations, especially over Tibet, will
have a significant impact on Asia, Yeo said. Yeo noted that
Singapore believes the March 14 riots in Tibet were
instigated by Tibetans and that "China was a victim of that
incident and not the cause." Yeo also compared ethnic
tensions in Tibet and Singapore, and said "the problems they
(we assume the various ethnic groups) face are natural in a
multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. We in Singapore also
face daily problems because of ethnic differences." Lastly,
Yeo said cultural traditions "could only be preserved by
development, not by isolation and freezing in the past."

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Wang's massive delegation to Singapore is being
billed as another indication of the deepening of
Singapore-Sino relations, which several MFA officials told us
last year were already at an all-time high. While the visit
achieved a level of public diplomacy success, the substance
appears limited to the MOU that will allow eight government
officials in each country to participate in masters degree
programs and the MOU on strengthening S&T research.
Singapore already provides training to over 4,000 PRC
officials annually. FM Yeo's statements comparing ethnic
tension in Tibet with Singapore fall in line with Singapore's
pragmatic approach to relations with China, as well as the
GOS' constant public efforts to remind its own citizens that
since race riots broke out in Singapore in the 1960s, the
government must remain vigilant and continue to keep a firm
hand on public order, lest racial tension flare up again.

Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm
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