SINGAPORE, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang concluded his official visit to Singapore on Sunday, reaffirming the two countries' commitment to deepening cooperation and jointly promoting stability and prosperity in the region and beyond.

During the two-day visit, Premier Li met with Singaporean leaders and attended a roundtable with the business communities of both nations. He called for deeper collaboration across a wide range of sectors and welcomed Singaporean enterprises to share in the opportunities arising from China's continued development.

Upon his arrival on Saturday, Li highlighted that the development of China-Singapore relations has maintained strong momentum since the establishment of diplomatic ties 35 years ago. The relationship, he said, has been characterized by growing political mutual trust, fruitful practical cooperation, and closer people-to-people exchanges, setting a model of mutual learning and win-win cooperation among nations.

China, he said, stands ready to work together with Singapore to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, comprehensively expand mutually beneficial cooperation, continue to work together in the modernization drive, and contribute more to upholding true multilateralism and promoting common development in the region.

China and Singapore share strong economic ties as close neighbors and important partners. China has been Singapore's largest trading partner since 2013, while Singapore remains China's leading source of new foreign investment.

Flagship projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor -- a multimodal transportation network -- have demonstrated the enduring vitality and resilience of practical cooperation.

People-to-people exchanges have also flourished. Since the introduction of mutual visa-free travel in February 2024, China has become Singapore's largest source of tourists. In the first nine months of this year, Singapore recorded 2.5 million arrivals from China. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, the Chinese mainland also ranked first in tourism receipts.

Li's visit came shortly after the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which deliberated over and adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, which, Li said, would open new opportunities for China-Singapore cooperation.

During talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Saturday, Li said China is willing to strengthen development alignment with Singapore, make full use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and maintain the strong momentum of two-way trade and investment.

He welcomed more Singaporean enterprises to invest in China and expressed hope that Singapore would continue to support Chinese businesses operating here.

For his part, Wong voiced full confidence in China's economic prospects and reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to continued investment. He said Singapore stands ready to further enrich the substance of the all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership with China.

Following their talks, Li and Wong jointly witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements covering areas such as the digital economy, green development, information and communications, transportation, food safety, emergency management, and third-party collaboration.

Artificial intelligence, the green transition, smart cities, and the digital economy are the future engines of growth, and China's progress in these areas complements Singapore's own development priorities, Hoo Tiang Boon, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University, told Xinhua.

On Sunday, at the Singapore-China Business Roundtable, Li reiterated China's commitment to high-level opening-up. He pledged that China would continue to ease market access, improve the business environment, ensure equal treatment for domestic and foreign enterprises, address their legitimate concerns, and support both Chinese and Singaporean companies in pursuing greater development.

"Despite global headwinds, China remains a growth market for Singapore companies," the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) said in a press release. The SBF announced earlier this week that it will lead a delegation of over 500 representatives from 57 companies to the upcoming 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE).

"The CIIE continues to serve as an important platform for Singapore businesses to engage Chinese and international buyers, reflecting growing confidence and sustained interest in the China market," it said.

At Sunday's event, Li also called on both sides to upgrade cooperation from "complementary elements" to "collaborative innovation," from "bilateral cooperation" to "tripartite cooperation," and to move from "participating in global division of labor" toward "jointly leading the formulation of rules."

Business representatives at the event said China-Singapore economic and trade cooperation continues to drive growth and prosperity in both countries and across the region. Singaporean enterprises expressed optimism about China's long-term outlook, emphasizing that the Chinese modernization process will generate new opportunities for nations worldwide, including Singapore.

During his visit, Li also stressed the importance of jointly upholding multilateralism, especially at a time when the world faces complex and interwoven challenges.

In a meeting with Singapore's Acting President Eddie Teo on Sunday, Li reaffirmed China's readiness to work with Singapore to safeguard multilateralism and free trade, promote an equal and orderly multipolar world as well as a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Li said China stands ready to work with Singapore and other ASEAN members to ensure the success of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and achieve greater development.

He also told Wong a day before that, as the multilateral trading system comes under strain, China is ready to cooperate with Singapore to strengthen communication and collaboration within the United Nations and other mechanisms, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and uphold free trade and economic globalization.

Echoing Li's remarks, Wong said Singapore is committed to deepening multilateral cooperation with China, defending free trade, and advancing regional and global stability and prosperity. ■