President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan wave upon arrival at Changi Airport in Singapore on Friday. Xi arrived in Singapore for a state visit, and will also meet Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou.[Agencies]

Upgrading of bilateral free trade agreement, 3rd intergovernmental project high on agenda

President Xi Jinping's arrival in Singapore on Friday comes amid concerted efforts to upgrade a bilateral free trade agreement and as China's Chongqing has been chosen to be the location for the third intergovernmental project－an urbanization development project－between the two nations

This is Xi's first state visit to Singapore since taking office, and it is at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Tony Tan Keng Yam. The trip is also the first state visit hosted by Singapore since the general election in September.

The two countries will sign an array of cooperation agreements on education, customs, finance and urban governance.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Singapore and 25 years of China-Singapore diplomatic relations. In an article published on Friday in The Straits Times, Xi said the occasion adds to the significance of his visit to the country.

"In the quarter of a century since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Singapore have helped, supported and learned from each other, and this has contributed much to our respective development," Xi was quoted as saying in the article.

In 2014, bilateral trade reached $79.74 billion, a 28-fold increase over two decades ago.

Xi pointed out that China is Singapore's biggest trading partner, likewise, Singapore was one of the first countries to get involved in China's opening-up, and is an important offshore RMB trading center.

Building on the success of the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city, a third bilateral cooperation project will be launched, Xi said, adding that cooperation between the two countries in finance, science, technology, environmental protection, education, culture, social governance, law enforcement and security has been deepened and produced many results.

Noting that China-Singapore relations have reached a new historical starting point, Xi made a three-point proposal in order to create a brighter future for bilateral ties.

He said the two countries should continue to provide leadership guidance by maintaining close high-level exchanges, strengthening political mutual trust and enhancing strategic dialogue.

Xi also called for both nations to deepen and expand practical cooperation by synergizing respective development strategies, expand converging interests, take solid steps to pursue cooperation projects, create new growth areas for cooperation, and upgrade practical cooperation between China and Singapore.

The two sides should pursue close cooperation on regional and international affairs, Xi said, adding that both China and Singapore should jointly promote integration in the region, peace and development in Asia, and global prosperity.

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