Singapore is a city-state in Southeast Asia. Singapore withdrew from Malaysia and declared independence in 1965.
(Photo: VCG)
FACTS
Republic of Singapore
Capital: Singapore
Population: 5.64 million
Area: 722.5 kilometers
Major languages: Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil
Life expectancy: 82
Currency: Singapore Dollar
Membership in UN, ASEAN, World Bank
(Photo: CGTN)
ECONOMY
Major industries in Singapore include electronics, petrochemical, finance, shipping, and service. Singapore’s economy is driven mainly by foreign trade, and the trade volume is three times bigger than the GDP.
Singapore is lack of natural resources. For agriculture, it heavily relies on import from Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Australia. Tourism is a major source of its foreign exchange.
Singapore has an advanced transportation system. As one of the busiest ports in the world and a major hub in Asia, it has over 200 routes connecting over 600 ports in the world.
GDP (2017): 324 billion US dollars
GDP per capita (2017): 55,000 US dollars
GDP growth rate (2017): 8.6 percent
(Photo: CGTN)
POLITICAL FIGURES
President: Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Singapore-China relations
China and Singapore established diplomatic relationship on October 3, 1990. From 2013 to 2017, China remains to be Singapore’s biggest trade partner in five consecutive years, and Singapore remains to be China’s biggest foreign investor. Bilateral trade volume in 2018 reached 83 billion US dollars, increasing 4.6 percent.
In November 2018, the two governments signed The Protocol to Upgrade the Free Trade Agreement in Singapore.
In October 2018, the first Singapore-China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Investment Forum was held in Singapore, co-organized by China's National Development and Reform Commission and Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry.
On April 10, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore at Boao State Guesthouse in Hainan Province. Xi Jinping pointed out that both sides should push forward inter-governmental cooperation in major projects, strengthen cooperation within the “Belt and Road” framework, continue well forging the Southern Transport Corridor jointly built by the two countries, and better link the “Belt” and the “Road”.
In July 2017, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan during Balakrishnan’s official visit to China. China and Singapore can increase cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative via setting up platforms for connectivity, finance and third-party market, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
China and Singapore also have close cooperation in education and culture, and talent training. The number of Chinese students in Singapore reached 10,430 in 2016. Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre was launched in 2015. China and Singapore have held Singapore-China Forum on Leadership for six times since 2009.