Singapore PM highly comments on China's achievements in past decades

By Zheng Xiaoyi, Zhang Yongxing

SINGAPORE, Oct. 22 (Chinese media) -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has highly commented on China's great achievements since the country adopted the policy of reform and opening up 30 years ago, saying the world's most populous country can play a more constructive and positive role on the international arena.

In an interview with Chinese media before his official visit to China starting on Wednesday, Lee described the transformation China has gone through since 1978 as "enormous".

"This is an enormous achievement, not just in terms of economic growth, but the change of mindsets, the awareness of what is happening in the world and the dynamism of wanting to move forward," he said.

Lee, who has visited China several times since taking office in2004, said that the physical transformation of both urban and rural areas in country as well as the high-quality infrastructure in the country were impressive.

"I think there has not been anything like this in the world before," he said, adding "What is the most impressive is the way the Chinese people have mobilized, and at every level in every city, in every province, you have leaders and people who are anxious to get ahead, who are participating in this transformation, who are thinking of new ideas to overcome their problems and move forward."

As for China's goal of pursuing a sustainable development, Lee said that "China's own population will increasingly want to make progress because standards of living are going up and the Chinese people want not just higher incomes but a balanced sustainable development."

Lee added that China's peaceful development will benefit both Asia and the rest of the world.

"Thirty years ago, China was a country with which we had historical links but only minimal economic ties. But now it is playing an active and major role in the region and we have very substantial economic relationship with it," Lee said.

During Lee's stay in Beijing on Oct. 22-27, the two countries will ink a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), the first such deal an ASEAN country is to sign with China.

"This FTA is not just of bilateral significance, it also has broader implications," Lee said, adding that "For China, it is a signal that despite the difficulties in the Doha Round, China still wishes to push forward with promoting trade and openness with its partners."

According to the prime minister, the FTA is also a signal to encourage other ASEAN members and the regional bloc as a whole to pursue and complete the FTA with China.

Lee said that China's success and confidence are benefiting countries in Asia.

Lee expressed the belief that China can play an important role in international issues.

Lee said that China needs to play a constructive and positive role in issues such as the Doha Trade Round, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) discussions as well as the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula.

Lee believed that the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), to be held in Beijing on Oct. 24-25, would help achieve more consensus, promote exchanges and cooperation between the two continents which face some common challenges.

"The financial turmoil is, of course, one major item which willcertainly be discussed. Countries are taking action on the financial problems individually, but there is also a need for coordination to know what others are doing, to understand each other's thinking and to make sure that what each country does doesn't make the problems more complicated for other countries," he said.

Describing the turmoil as one of the most serious crises of thefinancial systems in many decades, at least since the Second World War, Lee noted the impact is not only on the financial sector, but is also on the real economies.

"The best thing we can do is to keep our economies moving, to increase investment in our countries where it makes sense and to increase gradually the proportion of consumption in our countries," he stressed.

He believed that Asian countries can withstand the slowdown in the end.

Lee said that Singapore has taken measures and will take more, if necessary, to help households, particularly low-income groups, to tide over this difficult period.

He urged ASEM leaders to promote resumption of Doha round trade talks, saying that in times of stress, there is great political pressure for governments to adopt protective measures.

The Doha Round talks, which aim to lower trade barriers worldwide and boost global trade, have stalled due to disagreements on issues such as agricultural and industrial tariffs.

The Singapore prime minister, who will take over the post of chairman the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) next January, pledged that his country would push for resumption of the Doha Round at next year's summit in November.

In regard to the modes of cooperation between Asia and Europe, Lee said that given the diversification of the two continents, it is not practical to have all of Europe and all of Asia working together on one big project.

"But pushing for many linkages between some countries in Asia and some countries in Europe, or in the European case, with the EU as a whole, that's possible and that is what we should do," he said.