On November 20, 2007, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met respectively with President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Roh Moo-hyun, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Singapore.

When meeting with ROK President Roh Moo-hyun, Wen said this year marks the 15th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic relations, as well as the China-ROK Exchange Year. The activities held this year have deepened the understanding and friendship between the two peoples and promoted the pragmatic cooperation in all fields. The Chinese premier said that his country is willing to continue to enhance political trust and all-round cooperation with South Korea on the basis of understanding and friendship that already existed. He also noted that the two countries should draw a plan at an early date over the bilateral free trade zone on the basis of win-win principle, expand humanities exchanges and continuously enrich the comprehensive cooperative partnership.

On November 20, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Roh Moo-hyun in Singapore

Talking about the six-party meeting, Wen stressed that the agreement reached during the sixth round of six-party talks in October is an important step toward realizing the goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. This is the result of joint efforts made by all parties concerned including both China and South Korea, which share broad common interests on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia, Wen added. China is willing to keep contact and cooperation with South Korea and push forward the process of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, he said. China will as always firmly support the process of South-North reconciliation and cooperation and will actively participate in the launch of a peace mechanism on the peninsula, added the premier.

Roh said his country is satisfied with the activities held this year between the two countries, which had promoted the bilateral ties. The new goal for China's development set during the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held this year has provided greater opportunities for cooperation between the two countries, he said. South Korea hopes its partnership with China will develop further in more areas, Roh said.

The president also appreciated China's constructive efforts on the six-party talks and thanked China for supporting the process of North-South reconciliation and cooperation. He pledged that South Korea will further the coordination and cooperation with China to push forward the process of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and contribute to the establishment of the peace mechanism on the peninsula and of the security and cooperation mechanism in Northeast Asia.

When meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Wen noted that since the two countries' leaders resumed contacts and exchanges a year ago, they have reached consensus on some sensitive issues such as appropriate handling of Taiwan and historical issues, the construction of a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship and achieving the goal of "peaceful coexistence, friendship for generations, mutually-beneficial cooperation and common development." "The bilateral relations saw an important and hard-earned opportunity for improvement and development, which we should all cherish," Wen said.

On November 20, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Singapore

Wen said China attaches great importance to developing Sino-Japanese relations and will, as always, stick to its friendly policy towards Japan. The premier said China is committed to developing long-term, stable, good-neighborly and cooperative ties with Japan. China is ready to make joint efforts with Japan to maintain the momentum of improvement and development in bilateral ties and achieve even greater progress in bilateral cooperation in various fields, Wen said. The priority now is to make preparations for a series of high-level visits, make the first high-level economic dialogue to be held in Beijing next year a success, map out a comprehensive plan for economic and trade cooperation, and identify the key fields of cooperation, Wen said. The two countries should also be well prepared to conduct a series of activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty, so as to promote mutual understanding and friendship, strengthen exchange and dialogue in the defense area to deepen mutual trust and accelerate the process of negotiations on the East China Sea issue in a bid to achieve substantial progress as early as possible, he said.

Fukuda said Wen's visit to Japan earlier this year has deepened Japanese people's friendly sentiment towards China and served as a strong catalyst for the improvement of bilateral relations. It is a common task for Japan and China to push forward the strategic and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship, the Japanese prime minister said. Fukuda expressed his wish to visit China at an early date, possibly within this year or at the beginning of next year, saying the Japanese side is willing to maintain high-level visits. The year 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty. The Japanese side hopes to seize this opportunity to increase contacts and expand cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, defense, environment, and humanism, the prime minister said. He also expressed his willingness to enhance coordination on international and regional affairs between Japan and China. He said Japan hopes to seek an appropriate solution to the East China Sea issue through negotiations as early as possible. Fukuda reiterated that Japan's position on the Taiwan issue is consistent and will not change.

Both sides also exchanged views on other issues of common concern.

The two sides agreed that the year 2008 will be "The Year of China-Japan Youth Exchange."

China and Indonesia are friendly neighbors and strategic partners, Wen said while meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. China highly appreciated Indonesia's adherence to the one-China policy, which formed important political basis for developing relations with China, said Wen. "The Chinese side will continue to support Indonesia and closely coordinate with the country on important issues of mutual concern," Wen said.

On November 20, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Singapore

The Chinese premier expressed his hope that the two countries will formulate a common action plan for their strategic partnership, sign an agreement on expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and enhance their cooperation in the fields of trade, construction of infrastructure and agriculture.

Susilo highly spoke of Indonesia's relations with China, saying their strategic partnership is developing smoothly and their bilateral cooperation is fruitful in various fields. He expressed his confidence that the bilateral trade volume will reach the goal of 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2010. Indonesia is looking forward to developing closer relations with China, strengthening their coordination on regional issues and expanding cooperation in the fields of trade, investment and energy.

During Wen Jiabao's meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, both sides made positive comments on bilateral ties, saying that both countries give priority to the development of bilateral ties. The two leaders also expressed willingness to further develop political exchanges and economic and trade cooperation, and deepen cooperation in regional and international issues.

On November 20, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark in Singapore

Clark said the "Taiwan independence" activities pose a threat to regional stability and her country will not support such activities and will continue to adhere to the One China policy, which gained appreciation from Premier Wen.

On the issue of free trade zone between the two countries, Wen said the negotiation over the issue is of strategic significance to the bilateral relations and is an important step to develop all-round cooperative relations of mutual benefit between China and New Zealand in the 21st century. He expressed hope that both sides will bear in mind the general development of bilateral ties, follow the principle of sincerity, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation, take each other's concerns into consideration and show flexibility during negotiations to ensure that an agreement will be reached within the year.

Echoing Premier Wen Jiabao's above proposals, Clark said that to establish a free trade zone with China is a strategic policy of New Zealand, which is ready to display flexibility and make greater efforts to complete the negotiations as scheduled.

The relations between the two countries are of good momentum as they respect each other in politics, make consultations on equal footing, maintain economic cooperation and cultural exchanges and keep coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, said Wen while meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Wen expressed hope that both sides will take the opportunity to complete the joint action plan on bilateral strategic cooperation and the five-year development plan on economic and trade cooperation as early as possible so as to deepen friendly cooperation between the two countries.

On November 20, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Singapore

Describing Philippines-China relations as mature and comprehensive, Arroyo said China is Philippines's important cooperative partner and the Philippines attaches great importance to its relations with China. The Philippines will firmly adhere to the One-China policy and is opposed to any activities of the "Taiwan independence," she added.

To jointly develop the South China Sea will help stabilize the region and conform to the common interests of the two countries, Wen noted. China is ready to continue close cooperation with the Philippines in completing the second-phase of China-Philippines-Vietnam joint marine seismic work and push the joint exploitation of the South China Sea for tangible results at an early date, said Wen. Arroyo expressed agreement with Wen's proposals.

On the same day, Wen Jiabao also called on the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore and representatives from Chinese-funded institutions and Chinese students.