BEIJING, March 31 — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Chinese President Xi Jinping today with the leaders of both countries agreeing to "upgrade” bilateral relations.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the upgraded partnership reflects both sides’ commitment to continually expand bilateral cooperation, and pursue new collaborations in forward-looking areas such as digital and green economies.

In his opening remarks, which were open to the media, Lee cited Singapore’s strong ties with China and said it is "timely for us now to look ahead, work together, and take our partnership forward”.

He also said that he was "happy to read” of China’s emphasis on economic growth and resilience, and that he was confident the superpower’s economy will continue to strengthen.

"Many countries, including Singapore, are very keen to enhance our economic ties with China, and I hope that my visit will inject a fresh momentum for bilateral co-operation and high-level exchanges between us,” said Lee in English.

He also congratulated Xi on his reappointment as China’s president, and noted that its leadership has laid out its vision and long-term goals for the next stage of the country’s development.

Xi, who spoke in Chinese, said that China wants to work with Singapore to develop not just the relationship between both countries, but also the level of co-operation in various fields to "obtain new achievements”.

He added that this will bring a lot of benefits to the people of both countries, and make a bigger contribution to the peace, stability and development of the region and the world.

"China and Singapore are important cooperative partners. Our co-operation is forward-looking, strategic and exemplary,” said Xi.

Prior to his meeting with Xi today, Lee also met three other members of the Chinese leadership separately, some of whom he described as "old friends”.

Lee began the fifth day of his week-long visit to China meeting with Beijing party secretary Yin Li, who hosted the prime minister to lunch.

He later met China’s number three official, the National People’s Congress chairman Zhao Leji.

Both Zhao and Lee described each other as "old friends”, having met many times in the past, with the most recent being the Singapore-China Forum on Leadership in 2017.

Lee then met the chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Wang Huning.

Lee recounted how the pair had first met in 1993, when Wang, who was then a scholar, led the Fudan University delegation for a debate competition in Singapore.

The team, noted Lee, won the first prize under Wang’s guidance.

Lee then said he found an old photo of both from the debate, and that he wanted Wang to "keep it as a memento of our friendship and good co-operation”.

Lee, who is accompanied by his wife Ho Ching and several ministers, will conclude his trip tomorrow after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang. — TODAY