Against the backdrop of the international financial crisis, it is of great significance for China and Singapore to actively explore new ways and areas of cooperation, a senior Chinese official said.

Briefing the media on a series bilateral meetings held in Singapore on Monday, Wu Dawei, China's Vice Foreign Minister said that the bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, science and technology, education, culture and other fields has advanced in an all-round way with good results.

"We believe that the just concluded meetings will definitely give a strong boost to the friendly cooperation between our two countries." Wu said.

At the invitation of Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan arrived at Singapore on Sunday to start a four-day official visit to the city state.

On Monday morning, Wang co-chaired with his Singapore counterpart Wong Kan Seng the 6th China-Singapore Joint Council Meeting for Bilateral Cooperation, the 11th China- Singapore Joint Steering Council Meeting for the Suzhou Industrial Park and the 2nd China-Singapore Joint Steering Council Meeting for the Tianjin Eco-City.

Wu said that China and Singapore are closely related in terms of geographical location, cultural heritage and language. These are favorable conditions in growing our friendly cooperation.

The two countries have maintained close communication and coordination on regional and international issues and made positive contribution to regional peace, cooperation and common development.

Next year, China and Singapore will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Wu said that the two sides will take the anniversary as an opportunity to enhance the friendship between their countries and peoples and elevate their relations to a higher level.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2009)