On April 26, 2002, Vice President Hu Jintao, on an official visit to Singapore, held talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. The two sides had an extensive and in-depth exchange of views on China-Singapore relations and some major regional and international issues and reached a lot of consensus.

Hu first conveyed Premier Zhu Rongji's cordial greetings to Goh. He said that Sino-Singaporean relations have enjoyed smooth development in recent years, with frequent exchange of visits between the two countries at all levels. Singapore is China's top destination for labor export as well as the No. 1 amongst ASEAN nations in terms of trade volume with and investment in China. The successful cooperation on the Suzhou Industrial Park Project has brought concrete benefits to both sides. The two countries have also made remarkable progress in scientific, technological, cultural, education, personnel training and other fields.

Hu said that under new circumstances, China-Singapore cooperation is facing new development opportunities. The two sides should actively explore new cooperation areas and greatly promote new growth points in bilateral cooperation according to the changes in circumstances. He proposed that the two sides should work in the following areas.

I Expand cooperation in the high-tech field. Since both China and Singapore have strongholds in high-tech R&D and commercialization, the two countries should further improve their mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as information technology, life sciences, new materials and micro-electronics.

II Strengthen cooperation in China's western regions. Singapore has strengths in capital, management, attracting investment, and experiences of cooperation with China and language convenience. China welcomes Singapore to actively take part in China's development of its western regions.

III Explore cooperation on China's implementation of its "go global" strategy. In recent years, there are many Chinese enterprises doing business in Singapore, which is a good start. China looks forward to Singapore's support.

IV Strengthen two-way exchange and cooperation in the area of human resources. In recent years, great progress has been achieved in China-Singapore personnel exchanges and training cooperation. The two sides should continue to develop exchanges and cooperation in this regard.

Goh spoke highly of the development of Sino-Singaporean relations, fully agreed with Hu on his four-point proposal on future bilateral cooperation, and suggested that the two sides should gradually implement them.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional cooperation. Hu said that East Asian cooperation is receiving good momentum, with the 10+3 cooperation having become the main channel for cooperation in the region. He called on East Asian countries to strengthen cooperation in areas of trade, finance and social development, according to the complementarity of each countries' economic development and current needs, so as to promote further integration of the regional economy and enhance the overall competitiveness of each country and the region as a whole.

Hu pointed out that with a responsible attitude towards regional economic development, China proposed the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area within 10 years. It will be a mutually beneficial win-win mechanism. China appreciates Singapore's efforts to promote East Asia cooperation, and would like to work with Singapore to score greater development in East Asia cooperation.

Goh said that the proposal to establish China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is of great importance and will benefit all countries of East Asia. Singapore will work with other ASEAN countries and China to realize that gradually.

Hu expressed China's appreciation for Singapore's adherence to the "one-China" policy and Goh expressed Singapore's readiness to continue to stick to the policy.