Historic moment: Mr Deng arriving in Singapore in November, 1978, to a warm welcome from Mr Lee. It was Mr Deng's first and only official visit to the Republic. Mr Lee recalls in his memoirs how he had prepared an ashtray for Mr Deng despite a no-smoking rule at the Istana. 'It was a gesture to a great figure in the history of China,' he says.
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Singapore’s Role in China’s 30 Years of Reform, Opening Up
By LEE U-WEN
16 December 2008
Throughout a relationship that has lasted more than three decades and counting, ‘role model’ and ‘old friend’ are just some of the numerous endearing terms that China has used to describe Singapore.
Singapore’s first prime minister and now minister mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, has made almost 30 trips to China since his first visit back in May 1976, coming at the end of the Cultural Revolution and a full 14 years before formal diplomatic relations between the two nations were formed.
Later this evening, Mr. Lee is scheduled to take part in a special dialogue here to commemorate the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up to the world in 1978.
The one-hour event at the Shangri-la Hotel, to be facilitated by ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh, will be attended by diplomats, members of the Singapore Cabinet, academics and top business leaders from both countries. Mr. Lee is speaking at the invitation of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with the Chinese Embassy in Singapore and Business China.
For Singapore, 1978 is especially meaningful as it was in November that year that China’s then-senior vice-premier Deng Xiaoping, at the age of 74, made his first and only official visit to Singapore. He had last visited the Republic back in 1920 at the age of 16, while on a stopover on his way to France.
Recalling his three-day visit, Mr. Lee wrote in his memoirs of how he had placed an ashtray in the Istana ‘ostentatiously for Mr. Deng alone’, although there was a no-smoking rule for air-conditioned rooms there.
‘It was a gesture to a great figure in the history of China,’ wrote Mr. Lee, in a clear testament to the respect he held for the late leader of the Communist Party of China.
During one of the official dinners, Mr. Lee had urged Mr. Deng to light up. Mr. Deng replied that he was trying to cut down on smoking after his doctor had advised him to do so. ‘That night, he did not smoke or use the spittoon,’ wrote Mr. Lee. ‘He had read that I was allergic to smoke.’
After Mr. Deng had boarded his plane for home, Mr. Lee turned to his colleagues and said that Mr. Deng’s staff were going to get a ‘shellacking’.
Explaining why, Mr. Lee wrote: ‘(Mr. Deng) had seen a Singapore his brief had not prepared him for. There had been no tumultuous Chinese crowds, no rapturous hordes of Chinese Singaporeans to welcome him, just thin crowds of curious onlookers.’
When he returned to China, Mr. Deng urged China to learn from Singapore, setting in motion a series of exchanges that helped in building a strong foundation for the healthy relations that both countries enjoy today.
That close friendship reached a new high in October this year when the China-Singapore free trade agreement was inked in Beijing, a historic event witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The FTA was the culmination of two years and eight long rounds of discussions between both sides, and is one that will see tariffs for almost all goods moving between the two countries abolished from January.
China is Singapore’s third largest trading partner and biggest investment destination. Bilateral trade reached a record S$91.6 billion last year. Singapore’s cumulative actual investments reached nearly S$50 billion by the end of 2007.
MM Lee wrote in a recent issue of the People’s Action Party publication, Petir, of how the contrast between the China he saw back in 1976 and the one he visited during the Olympics this year was ‘breathtaking’, with Beijing’s ‘run-down buildings and dark, poorly lit wide streets’ replaced by new high-rises, broad highways and flyovers.
In an October 2008 meeting with China’s top legislator Wu Bangguo in Beijing, Mr. Lee noted how few countries have attained such fast growth in such a short period of time.
And it is watching this rapid development unfold before him that is likely to keep Mr. Lee making more trips to China in future. He told Mr. Wu: ‘I like coming to China because every time I come here, I see distinct progress, optimistic outlook.’ The close friendship between Singapore and China is set to blossom even further. New cooperation projects include a possible ‘food zone’ in north-eastern Jilin province, education, manpower and leadership development, as well as civil service exchanges. There are also plans to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park. Chinese President Hu Jintao has also accepted an invitation by PM Lee to make a state visit to Singapore next year, when the Republic hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
This will be Mr. Hu’s first visit to Singapore since he became president in 2003; his last trip here was in 2002.
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