Opening up and inclusiveness lead to development of a country, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday.
Delivering a speech at the National University of Singapore, Wen said opening up and inclusiveness have both created Singapore's success and contributed to China's development.
"Mutual opening up and inclusiveness between China and Singapore have led to rapid growth in our cooperation," he said.
Trade between China and Singapore totaled 40.85 billion U.S. dollars last year, 15 times the figure of 1990 when the two countries established diplomatic ties.
Last year also saw 1.8 million mutual visits between China and Singapore, an 18-fold increase over 1990.
Citing the Suzhou Industrial Park as a success story in China-Singapore cooperation, Wen said the two countries' joint efforts on building ecologically friendly cities will be a good initiative for China and Singapore to promote sustainable development in keeping with the trends of the times.
To draw upon Singapore's experience on its public order and management, China has sent over 9,000 officials for training in Singapore in the past decade.
"By drawing on their respective strengths and maintaining close cooperation, China and Singapore have both become winners," he said.
Responding to a proposal by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recently set up an organization known as "Business China," which offers a new platform for conducting cultural and business exchanges between the two countries.
"We hope 'Business China' will create more opportunities for the growth of China-Singapore relations," the Chinese premier said.
"Reviewing the past and looking ahead to the future, we have every confidence in the future of China-Singapore relations," he said.
China and Singapore can expect new opportunities for cooperation in development as China, guided by the scientific outlook on development, strives to build a moderately prosperous society and Singapore is pursuing the strategy to remake the country.
"We will continue to increase exchanges and cooperation with Singapore," he said. "Our cooperation will have an even brighter future," he added.
Wen arrived here on Sunday for an official visit to Singapore. During his stay here, he will also attend the 11th ASEAN plus Three summit, the 11th China-ASEAN summit, the third East Asia summit and the eighth annual meeting of leaders of China, Japan and South Korea.
Source: Xinhua
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