S’pore-China ties strengthened by friendships over the years: DPM Gan

New book offers insights into journey, marking 35 years of diplomatic relations

- Chin Soo Fang Senior Correspondent

Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh and SPH Media's Chinese Media Group editor-in-chief Lee Huay Leng signing copies of Singapore And China: Neighbours To Friends, Friends To Partners, which they co-edited, at its launch at the National Library on Oct 3. The book is available in English and Chinese.

(ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG)

Ties between Singapore and China have grown deeper and more resilient in the past 35 years, the result of leaders from both countries investing in building personal trust and mutual understanding.

These ties are complemented by friendships forged between business leaders, scientists, students, artists and ordinary citizens, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on Oct 3.

DPM Gan was speaking at the launch of a new book to mark 35 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The book - Singapore And China: Neighbours To Friends, Friends To Partners — contains 38 essays, and is available in both English and Chinese.

The book is meaningful, as the essays within - covering areas such as politics and diplomacy, trade and investment, arts and culture, and people-to-people exchanges - offer vivid testimonies of how ties have grown over the decades, DPM Gan said.

Even before diplomatic relations were formally established in 1990, the two countries had been laying the foundations for ties, he noted.

He recounted founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s first visit to China in 1976, which was followed by high-level exchanges and the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s reciprocal visit to Singapore in 1978.