A photo of Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on an airplane, which he posted on his X and Facebook accounts announcing his arrival in Nanning, Guangxi for his visit to China. Photo: official Facebook account of SM Lee Hsien Loong

Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday afternoon announced via social media that he had arrived in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, for his visit to China this week. A day earlier, a press release from the Prime Minister's office of Singapore said that Lee's visit will run from Monday to Friday, taking him to Shanghai in addition to Guangxi. A Chinese analyst said the visit is expected to focus on exchanges and communication, reflecting continued interactions and local cooperation between China and Singapore. 

According to the press release, Lee is being accompanied by Singapore government officials, including representatives from finance, foreign affairs and digital development related departments. The visit builds on the momentum of high-level exchanges between Singapore and China and deepens Singapore's ties with China at the regional level, per the press release. 

Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported that this is Lee's first visit to China in a year and a half in his capacity as Senior Minister.

Against the backdrop of evolving regional and global dynamics, Singapore still attaches great importance to relations with China and hopes to gain a better understanding of China's economic and industrial developments through continued engagement, Ma Bo, an associate professor at the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, told the Global Times on Monday.

In his Monday Facebook post, Lee wrote that as a regional capital close to Southeast Asia, Nanning is a main gateway for cooperation between ASEAN and China. He described Nanning as a green city with "lush green landscapes" and said that he is looking forward to the meetings and visits over the next few days.

In Guangxi, Lee will make site visits to better understand the region's role in advancing ASEAN-China connectivity as a key gateway linking China with Southeast Asia, per the press release.

Guangxi is the only provincial-level region in China linked to Southeast Asia through both land and sea routes, giving it a unique position in advancing China-ASEAN connectivity. It is also seen as a key frontier for the alignment of rules and cooperation under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 upgrade. 

Singaporean portal AsiaOne, citing an interview with People's Daily last December, reported that Singapore's ambassador to China, Peter Tan, described Qinzhou port in Guangxi as an important node on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and a gateway for Southeast Asian goods entering the Chinese market through Singapore.

Singapore companies have long established a presence in Guangxi, particularly in the port and logistics sectors, Singapore-based the Business Times reported on Sunday. 

Ma also noted that Singapore's emphasis on Guangxi's gateway role also reflects its growing interest in Southwest China's development and emerging opportunities in regional supply chains, logistics and economic cooperation.

In Shanghai, Lee will visit companies to learn about broader technological developments in China, according to the press release. AsiaOne also paid particular attention to Lee's visit to Shanghai, noting that the city is home to Zhangjiang AI Island, a major artificial intelligence hub that reportedly hosts more than 100 AI companies. 

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Lee's last visit to Shanghai took place in November 2024. 

Ma said that Shanghai is already a very familiar city for Lee, and has long been a major hub for Singaporean businesses and expatriates in China. The visit could also help Singapore gain an updated understanding of Shanghai's latest economic and technological developments. 

Zaobao reported that economic ties between Singapore and Guangxi as well as Shanghai have continued to deepen in recent years. Trade between Singapore and Guangxi reached 13.8 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) last year, while Shanghai had around 7,000 Singapore-related investment projects with cumulative actual investment totaling about $28 billion.

Official statistics from China's Foreign Ministry show that Singapore is China's fifth largest trading partner among ASEAN countries, with bilateral trade reaching $119.25 billion in 2025. Singapore has also remained China's largest source of new foreign investment for 13 consecutive years since 2013.