Good afternoon,

I am very much please to attend China and Singapore Entrepreneurs’ “Going out” Symposium at the invitation of Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. First of all, I would like, on behalf of Chinese Ministry of Commerce, to express my sincere congratulations to the symposium. I am confident that it will deepen the mutual understanding between Chinese and Singaporean enterprises, and will lay a profound groundwork for furthering Sino-Singapore enterprise cooperation.

The Sino-Singapore bilateral political, economic and trade relations have seen a rapid development since Singapore and China first established diplomatic relations 17 years ago. Both countries have attained great achievements in trade, investment, international contract project and labor service, May I elaborate as follows:

--Bilateral trade continued to grow. According to China’s statistics, in 2006, Sino-Singapore bilateral trade totaled 40.85 bn USD, up by 23.2% year on year. During the first quarter of 2007, the bilateral trade reached 10.2 bn USD already. Singapore is China’s seventh largest trading partner. It is also China’s largest trading partner among the ASEAN countries. Sino-Singapore bilateral trade accounted for 25% of the total between China and ASEAN.

--Remarkable achievements in Two-way investment. Singapore is China’s seventh foreign investor. By the end of 2006, Singapore’s actual investment in China has reached 30 bn USD. Over the past few years, the number of Chinese enterprises that set up solo and joint ventures has been on the increase, and Singapore has become an important destination for Chinese enterprises. According to China’s statistics, by the end of 2006, China’s direct investment in Singapore totaled 433 mn USD, topped the other ASEAN countries.

-- Contracted projects and labor service attained tremendous achievements. Singapore is China’s traditional market for contract projects and labor service cooperation. By the end of 2006, the contract value on projects, labor service, design and consultant service is 13.26 bn USD, and the total turnover amounted to 12.84 bn USD.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China-Singapore bilateral trade and economic cooperation has made remarkable achievements, and this symposium provides enterprises of both countries with a great opportunity to strengthen communication, deepen mutual understanding and work together for further development. I am very confident that with our joint efforts, the China-Singapore trade and economic relations will enjoy an all-around development. Let’s seize the opportunity and work together on the basis of equality and mutual benefit to realize a better future for the Sino-Singapore trade and economic relations.

At the conclusion, may I wish the symposium a great success.

Thank you!