中文
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. [Photo/Xinhua]
By Ji Xianbai
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has arrived in China, undertaking his first official visit to China since the COVID-19 pandemic began at the end of 2019. The six-day visit will not only mark the full resumption of the bilateral ties constrained by the once-in-a-generation global health disaster but also herald a forthcoming "golden age" in Sino-Singaporean relations.
Given the stark differences in size, many would expectedly characterize the relationship as one of "asymmetry." But the diplomatic agency of Singapore of asserting smart influence and the open-mindedness of China to treat Singapore with respect have paved the way for a more balanced and win-win partnership.
In 2008, Singapore was the first Asian nation to sign a free trade agreement with China. More recently, to tap into the opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for example, Singapore adopted a strategy of "forward engagement." While not hosting any physical infrastructure projects at home, Singapore has opted to invest in China's inland cities and provinces such as Chongqing and Sichuan. The cosmopolitan city-state has also made available its world-class legal services to arbitrate or adjudicate in Asian ways commercial disputes arising within the framework of the BRI.
Appreciating Singapore's pragmatically cooperative stance, China has also prioritized Singapore as a preferred and trusted international partner and a go-to resource center for understanding regional dynamics in and around Southeast Asia. Bilateral cooperation in areas ranging from offshore renminbi clearing, social administration, education, cultural exchange and joint technological development have thrived. Such government-to-government projects as the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city has inspired several similar endeavors between China and other countries.
The world is witnessing profound changes unseen in a century. Mitigating such uncertainties and volatilities on the world stage, China and Singapore should build on the solid foundation of pre-existing cooperation and form a forward-looking partnership that can serve as the anchor and propeller of regional stability in the age of great power competition.
Lately, I was browsing David Shambaugh's new book Where Great Powers Meet: America & China in Southeast Asia. In addition to commending him for the captivating book title, I also fully concur with Shambaugh on the historical, economic, geopolitical as well as strategic importance of Southeast Asia. After all, Southeast Asia is one of China's largest trading partners (despite the harsh lockdowns and severe supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic) and where tens of millions of overseas Chinese call home.
China's ascendancy has surely unnerved the United States. In this regard, Singapore has a unique mediating role to play in the interest of regional harmony and stability. An important reason is that Singapore is part of both the Chinese and Western institutional universes that some worry would untangle the global economic governance architecture. Singapore participates in the China-led BRI and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership while being party to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the newly unveiled Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the geo-economic campaign of Joe Biden's administration.
As such, Singapore can help bridge differences across these initiatives and cultivate a habit of cooperation, consultation and coordination among major powers that do not belong to a same grouping. Shuttle diplomacy does not necessarily apply in geopolitical events and can be instrumentalized in an economic setting in terms of facilitating orderly convergence between economic initiatives and frameworks.
This year will mark the 13th anniversary of the summitry process of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). A longstanding policy objective articulated under the remit of APEC is the establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). At the same time, the conceptualization of an Asia-Pacific Community with a Shared Future (APCSF) by China also reaches the ten-year milestone. Undoubtedly, the realization of both the FTAAP agreement and the APCSF vision requires cooperation and participation by key innovative and capable partners like Singapore.
Prime Minister Lee's visit will surely set off a new uptick in Sino-Singaporean bilateral relations. But he is hardly alone in attaching great importance to the relationship with China. Before Lee's arrival, the new Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Kao Kim Hourn toured China. And immediately on the heel of Lee's visit, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will visit China.
Clearly, it is not only a golden age of Sino-Singaporean bilateral relationship that is around the corner, but also a golden age of broader Sino-Southeast Asian relationship that is on the horizon.
Ji Xianbai is an associate professor at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. He is the author of "Mega-regionalism and Great Power Geo-economic Competition" (Routledge, 2022).
