On August 25, 2006, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai.

Wen said the third meeting of the China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation had achieved a great success with positive results.  China and Singapore are important trade cooperative partners and the trade volume between the two countries is one fourth of the China-ASEAN total.  Suzhou Industrial Park, a Sino-Singaporean joint project, has played a key role in promoting management experience exchanges and technology cooperation and such a role should be strengthened, he said. The two countries have complementary economies and should expand areas of trade cooperation and international markets together.

Wen said the third meeting had reached consensus on launching negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) and this is highly significant in terms of the two countries' economic and trade cooperation.  China has a positive attitude toward the FTA and is willing to launch the negotiation as soon as possible in the principle of equality, mutual benefit and considering each other's concerns, Wen said.  The two countries should strive to open each other's market in the framework of the Sino-ASEAN FTA, he said.

Wong said he agreed with Wen's views on bilateral relations. He said there have been frequent high-level visits and exchanges at all levels in recent years.  He said the two countries had made significant advances in economic cooperation, in particular the development of Suzhou Industrial Park, which has become a model of the two countries' cooperation. Launching negotiations on a FTA extends cooperation between the two countries and aids the China-ASEAN FTA negotiation, Wong said. The Singaporean side is willing to work with China and push bilateral relations forward, he said.

Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, Vice Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong and other officials attended the meeting.

On the same day, Wen Jiabao also met with Guinean State Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mamadi Conde.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing attended the meeting.