On August 5, 2009, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Hu Zhengyue received the Singaporean delegation headed by Goh Sin Ted,the executive Deputy Editor of Lianhe Zaobao.

Hu briefed the guests on the development of China-ASEAN relations and spoke positively on the good relationship between China and Singapore, saying that substantial progress has been made in the development of China-Singapore relations in recent years. There were also frequent high-level visits between the two sides, he said,as remarkable results have been achieved with bilateral cooperation in economic, scientific, technological, cultural and other fields with and cooperation mechanisms. Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and the Eco-City Project in Tianjin Binhai New Area have become models of cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the areas of trade, economy, science and technology. China attaches great importance to the relationship with Singapore and regards Singapore as an important partner. China is willing to make joint efforts with Singapore for the sustained, healthy and stable development of the bilateral relationship.

Hu noted that "Lianhe Zaobao" is among the earliest Southeast Asian media agencies that set up permanent offices in China. Over the years, China-based journalists from Lianhe Zaobao objectively covered every aspects of China including politics, economy, culture and people's livelihood and wrote a great deal of objective articles. Lianhe Zaobao made great contributions to helping the readers of Singapore and other countries understand China. "I hope that the friends from the media present here today can continue to serve as a bridge and play a positive role in promoting the development of friendly relations between China and Singapore."

Hu also talked of the preparations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai World Expo.