In Beijing, Mr Lee will call on and be hosted to dinner by Mr Xi, MFA said. He will also meet Mr Wang Huning, chairman of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
When in Shanghai, Mr Lee will meet with the city’s leadership, MFA said. He will also meet overseas Singaporeans in the Chinese financial hub.
As of June 2023, Singapore was Shanghai’s largest foreign investor. Cumulative actual investments reached US$25.99 billion in the first half of 2024. As of end-2022, Shanghai was also Singapore’s second-largest investment destination in China, behind Jiangsu province.
Mr Lee will be accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Education Minister and Minister-in-charge of Suzhou Industrial Park Chan Chun Sing, Senior Ministers of State Sim Ann and Low Yen Ling, as well as officials from various ministries, MFA said.
The senior minister’s trip to China comes close to two weeks after a working visit to the United States. While in the US, Mr Lee delivered a lecture at Harvard University, marked the 40th anniversary of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC’s presence in the country, and engaged with prominent US-based strategic thinkers and corporate leaders.
Mr Lee last visited China in March 2023, when he was still Singapore’s prime minister. He met with Mr Xi, and they agreed to upgrade ties between the two countries to an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership”.
His successor Mr Wong has also met Mr Xi – they did so on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Lima, Peru on Nov 15.
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