Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

As turbulence clouds the global landscape and many question the future of globalization, the ever-growing China-Singapore relationship steadily charts a promising path forward. This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Standing at this new historical juncture, the two countries are working to not only further strengthen bilateral ties but also advance regional cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Beijing on Tuesday. Cooperation between the two countries has aligned with China's development priorities at various stages, yielding substantial outcomes such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, significantly contributing to each country's modernization efforts, and also setting a benchmark for cooperation among regional nations, Xi noted, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

During the meeting, Wong said that in the face of a turbulent global landscape, Singapore is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on regional and multilateral platforms to jointly uphold multilateralism and the international order, Xinhua reported.

Wong is on his first official trip to China as prime minister. Notably, Wong chose China as the destination of his first trip to a non-ASEAN country after he took office in May, which speaks volumes about the high importance he attaches to developing China-Singapore relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry pointed out earlier. 

Over the past 35 years, China and Singapore have remained key partners. Their relationship has consistently embodied foresight, strategic significance and a demonstrative role for the region and beyond. 

Since 2013, China has been Singapore's largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years, while Singapore has consistently ranked as China's top source of new foreign investment during the period, according to official reports. Behind these figures lies more than just close commercial exchanges - but also a deep-rooted and enduring friendship and increasingly integrated mutual development.   

One of the most iconic examples is the Suzhou Industrial Park in East China's Jiangsu Province. The park, once home to extensive paddy fields and fish ponds 31 years ago, has transformed into a hub of innovation, home to cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals and nanotechnology applications. 

Another prime example of China-Singapore cooperation is the Tianjin Eco-City project in North China's Tianjin Municipality. Launched in 2008, this is the world's first eco-city co-developed by China and Singapore. Over the years, the project has flourished and has become a shared success story of China-Singapore cooperation in sustainable, green development.

Such collaborative projects are continuing to grow in number and scale. Moreover, with the deepening implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China and Singapore are expanding their cooperation in areas such as the digital economy and connectivity. This not only opens up new avenues for bilateral collaboration, but also contributes to the broader goal of sustainable economic development across Southeast Asia. 

It is because of their solid foundation of pioneering cooperation and strong alignment in values that China and Singapore have maintained remarkably stable relations despite the increasingly turbulent international landscape. Both countries advocate for genuine multilateralism and uphold a global governance vision based on openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. Wong has said that for small countries like Singapore, multilateralism is not an option, but an essential lifeline. 

In recent years, escalating geopolitical tensions, rising fragmentation and growing uncertainty have taken a serious toll on the global economy, trade and development. In this age of uncertainty, China and Singapore undeniably present a model of stable cooperation for the region and the world. Amid rising geopolitical complexity, China-Singapore cooperation remains a steady source of support for regional peace and development.  

No matter how global dynamics shift, the two countries are poised to both strengthen their bilateral ties as well as advance regional and multilateral cooperation. At the heart of this lies a shared belief in mutually beneficial cooperation - a belief so solid that no short-term political turbulence can shake the foundation it has built.