On October 13 local time, the 12th meeting of China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) was held in Singapore. Zhang Gaoli, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Vice Premier, together with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean of Singapore, co-chaired the meeting.

Zhang Gaoli noted that as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, China-Singapore relations are standing at a period that links the past and present and features important historic opportunity. The main tasks of the meeting today are to comprehensively summarize the results yielded in bilateral all-round cooperation and promote new progress in relevant key cooperation projects based on the implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in the middle of the year.

Zhang Gaoli said that the Chinese economy has entered a state of new normal, and Singapore is also standing at a crucial period of deeply promoting economic restructuring and upgrading. China is willing to provide more cooperation opportunities to Singapore, other Asian nations as well as other countries all over the world, and promote regional and global economy for sound and stable growth. China is ready to, together with Singapore, discuss and strive for docking of each other's strategy in the new circumstance, constantly enhance practical cooperation in all sectors, and push forward the China-Singapore mutually beneficial cooperation for in-depth and solid development and towards a new high.

Teo Chee Hean expressed that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and China 25 years ago, bilateral cooperation and connotation have been continuously expanded, with such projects as Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city having become models for bilateral cooperation. Singapore stands ready to, together with China, bring the mechanisms for bilateral cooperation into full play, constantly deepen practical cooperation in all fields, actively explore new cooperation sectors, and push bilateral cooperation for new and continuous achievements. Singapore will support the construction and development of relevant cooperation projects as always.

The meeting mainly covered six major topics including the third intergovernmental project, upgrading of bilateral free trade agreement, economic transformation, financial cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges as well as inclusive and sustainable development, reaching broad consensus. Both sides agreed that the third intergovernmental project, as a cooperation project with strategic significance between the two governments, will be implemented in western China. The project will focus on modern connectivity and modern service-driven economy, and play its role by forming a network. Both sides agreed that relevant departments should seize time to discuss on the cooperation documents to start the substantial construction of the project at an early date.

On the same day, Zhang Gaoli and Teo Chee Hean also co-chaired the 17th China-Singapore Joint Steering Council Meeting for the Suzhou Industrial Park and the eighth China-Singapore Joint Steering Council Meeting for the Tianjin Eco-city and deliberated the working report of the projects. Both sides fully affirmed the results scored in the development and construction of Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city and identified the objectives and tasks in the next-stage development. The meeting pointed out that the Suzhou Industrial Park should focus on speeding up the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategies, carry out practical and comprehensive experiment of open innovation, build an upgraded version of Chinese development zone, and explore the establishment of an exemplary platform of overseas investment services that is oriented towards Singapore and impacts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as nations along the Maritime Silk Road. The Tianjin Eco-city should persist in green development and innovation-driven model, make efforts to improve the attractiveness, competence and vitality of the region, accelerate the pace in building itself into an exemplary zone for national green development and embark on a path of new-type urbanization featuring intensification, high-efficiency, and intelligence.

Following the meeting, Zhang Gaoli and Teo Chee Hean together witnessed the signing of relevant documents on bilateral cooperation.