Singapore and China established diplomatic ties in 1990, one year after Jiang Zemin assumed control of the Chinese Communist Party.
Official ties were established 12 years after paramount leader Deng Xiaoping paid a historic visit to Singapore in 1978 and met with then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, establishing a decades-long friendship and laying the foundation for close bilateral ties that subsequent Chinese leaders, including Mr Jiang, inherited.
Mr. Lee also paid a goodwill visit to China in 1976, the first of many future trips.
Singapore was one of the last countries in Southeast Asia to recognize China formally. Mr. Lee, aware of Singapore's perception as a "third China," desired that his neighbors first normalize relations with the Asian superpower.
In 2000, just 10 years after diplomatic connections were established, when Mr. Jiang was waiting to welcome Mr. Lee in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, he casually commented to Singaporean media that it was hard to distinguish Singaporeans from Chinese.
Relations between China and Singapore during the Jiang dynasty were mostly driven by economic connections, notwithstanding the ethnic cosying.
The first government-to-government project, Suzhou Industrial Park, was established in 1994, with Mr. Jiang praising it as "China's most significant example of bilateral economic cooperation." The initiative, which originally strained ties when the local government opted to promote a competing park, set the path for future intergovernmental cooperation like the Tianjin Eco-city and Chongqing Connectivity Initiative.
From 1993 to 1995, during Mr. Jiang's administration, Singapore's investment in China increased from $444 million to $2.4 billion.
Mr. Jiang held the positions of general secretary of the Communist Party from 1989 to 2002, chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and president of China from 1993 to 2003.
Mr. Jiang, like Mr. Deng, had a strong friendship with Mr. Lee. Mr. Jiang reportedly valued Mr. Lee's opinions on how the United States regarded China, the Taiwan problem, and other global issues.
Mr. Lee recalled Mr. Jiang in his memoirs as someone with whom he could have lively chats and who delighted in reading couplets and rhymes from Chinese literature. He also regarded Mr. Jiang as very clever, well-read, gifted in languages, and "surprising" since he had not anticipated a Chinese communist leader to be so outgoing.
Additionally, Mr. Jiang spoke Russian, English, German, and Romanian. During one meeting with Mr. Lee, he stated, "I have an interpreter, but let's not waste any time. You will speak English; I can understand you. I'll speak in Chinese, and if you don't understand, my interpreter will assist."
Mr Jiang, 96, passed away in Shanghai on Wednesday due to leukaemia and multiple organ failure, according Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Comments