[Blue Skies in Beijing]
It was a beautiful sunny Wednesday in Beijing with blue skies and a clear view of the Western Hills. At the welcoming ceremony for PM, a strong bracing breeze blew which caused the red flags above us to flutter audibly. It was an auspicious day for the bilateral visit and the signing of the China-Singapore FTA.











PM held a series of meetings with PM Wen Jiabao, President Hu Jintao and Chairman NPCC Wu Bangguo. Vice Premier Li Keqiang hosted lunch. Bilateral relations are excellent. Much of the discussion was about the global financial crisis.



In the evening, the ASEAN leaders had an informal working dinner with financial crisis as the sole agenda item. ASEAN financial institutions having suffered much ten years ago are less exposed today. But everyone agreed that it was best not to be over-confident. as the present crisis is far from over. Finance Ministers were asked to be on the alert, strengthen cooperation and work with China, Japan and South Korea.



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