Wang advocates role of common development China vows to deepen cooperation with Singapore, keep opening-up

SINGAPORE — Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan advocated reform, innovation and common development at the New Economy Forum in Singapore, which gathered around 400 political and business leaders on Tuesday.

He paid a visit to Singapore from Monday to Wednesday.

In his speech at the opening ceremony of the forum, he said global politics and economies are now undergoing the most profound changes since the Cold War.

The world faces challenges such as maintaining stable economic development, demographic shifts, climate change, development imbalance, lag in global governance mechanisms and the rise of populism and unilateralism, he said.

“Opportunities arise in the challenges,” Wang said, stressing that the key to cope with the challenges should be following the trend, grasping the general direction and maintaining concentration.

“We should persist in advancing human peace and development, respecting the development paths that were chosen by peoples based on their independent choices, resolving various differences through consultation,” he said.

He said China will make its own efforts to let development progress truly benefit its people, through reform and opening up, deepening innovation and changing development modes.

Wang called on other countries to understand China’s history, saying the Chinese people witnessed pains and glory, and their history and culture determined that China can only take a development path with its own characteristics.

Wang emphasized that China is still a large developing country, and it will persist in managing its own affairs and carrying out the new development concept.

China will continue to adhere to the basic national policy of opening up, Wang said, adding that China will promote the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, firmly support the multilateral trading system, and oppose unilateralism and trade protectionism.

China is willing to work with all countries to push ahead economic globalization to move in a more open, inclusive, balanced and winwin direction, and jointly build a community with shared future for mankind.

Wang also said cooperation between China and the United States leads to win-win results while conflict ends up with a loss for both sides and will directly affect world development and stability.

He said that economy and trade cooperation is still a ballast and propeller for healthy and stable China-US relations. And the essence of the cooperation should be mutual benefit and win-win.

Common concern

Wang said that China is willing to conduct consultations with the US side on issues of common concern, and promote bilateral economy and trade issues to reach a mutually acceptable plan.

On the sidelines of the forum, Wang also met with the founder of the forum Michael Bloomberg, honorary chair of the forum’s advisory board Henry Kissinger, and chair of the forum’s advisory board Hank Paulson.

During his three-day visit, Wang also met with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Wang told Lee that ChinaSingapore relations have been vibrant for a long time and Singapore has been deeply involved in China’s reform and opening-up.

The all-around cooperative partnership progressing with the times, established when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Singapore in 2015, pointed out the future direction for bilateral ties, he said.

The flagship cooperative projects between the two countries have been carried forward steadily with exemplary effect, the Chinese vicepresident said, saying that China will firmly promote high-level opening-up.

Lee said the two countries have long maintained friendly relations and have advanced and expanded cooperation in recent years.

Calling reform and opening-up the source of China’s strength, Lee said multilateralism represents the future direction and Singapore stands with China in safeguarding multilateralism.

For sure they (the two presidents) will be together at the G20 meeting in Argentina, that’s why it’s highly likely that they will speak (in Paris) about this opportunity.”

BAY ISMOYO / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Investigators examine engine parts from the ill-fated Lion Air flight JT610 at a port in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday after they were recovered from the bottom of the Java Sea. The jet that plunged into the water on Oct 29, killing all 189 people on board, had an airspeed indicator problem on its fatal flight and on three previous journeys, the country’s transportation watchdog said on Tuesday.