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PM Lee meets China’s top graft-buster Wang Qishan

BEIJING — China's anti-corruption czar Wang Qishan, who once played a significant role in managing Sino-Singapore ties, met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Sept 20) at the latter's request.

PM Lee Hsien Loong (left), seen here with China's Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Qishan. Photo: MCI

PM Lee Hsien Loong (left), seen here with China's Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Qishan. Photo: MCI

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BEIJING — China's anti-corruption czar Wang Qishan, who once played a significant role in managing Sino-Singapore ties, met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Sept 20) at the latter's request.

Mr Wang, an influential figure in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, was the co-chairman of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) from 2008 to 2012.

The JCBC is the top body steering bilateral ties between Singapore and China. It is currently co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli. Like Mr Wang,

Mr Zhang is also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body.

Mr Wang, who heads the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said he was surprised but happy that a request had been made to meet him.

"So I sought permission and I am here meeting you and your delegation today ... Singapore is among the countries I have the most contact with," added the 69-year-old during their meeting held at Zhongnanhai, a former imperial garden that now serves as headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Mr Wang also paid tribute to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding Prime Minister.

"I had the privilege of having personal conversations with him on multiple occasions. He (was) such a visionary figure full of political wisdom.

"I gained a lot every time I talked with him ... I'm really greatly saddened by his passing. He was indeed a great man," said Mr Wang,

Associate Professor Chong Ja An, from the National University of Singapore's Department of Political Science, said the meeting with Mr Wang can provide PM Lee with "a sense of where China is going in terms of its anti-corruption campaign, as well as its implications for politics and economics in the country".

"The meeting can also provide Mr Lee with some insight about continuity in Chinese policy on the above issues, given speculation surrounding Mr Wang's future in China's top leadership," he told TODAY.

Despite an unwritten retirement age rule suggesting he should step down at the upcoming 19th Party Congress, Mr Wang could be kept on by President Xi Jinping as head of a new National Supervisory Commission that will combine the powers of several graft-fighting bodies, sources with ties to the leadership had told Reuters news agency earlier.

The five-yearly congress, where the CCP reshuffles its top leadership and ushers in younger leaders, will be held on Oct 18.

PM Lee told Mr Wang the Singapore delegation is "very honoured to be here just before the 19th Party Congress. I know it is a very busy time for you and all your colleagues". Mr Lee added: "We really appreciate it that you are spending time to cultivate this bilateral relationship and take our co-operation another step forward."

The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that during their meeting, PM Lee thanked Mr Wang for his contributions to Sino-Singapore relations over the years in various capacities.

"They exchanged views on Singapore's and China's experiences in tackling corruption and learning from each other's best practices," it added.

After meeting Mr Wang, Mr Lee and his delegation visited SenseTime, a Chinese firm known for its artificial intelligence technologies, including face recognition and big data analysis.

There, Mr Lee observed and experimented with solutions, such as SenseFace, which tracks vehicles and pedestrians, as well as SenseVideo, which detects abnormal behaviour within crowds. Both have been used for surveillance by the local Chinese governments in many cities.

SenseTime's face and character-recognition expertise has also been used in commercial and advertising products, such as the Snow app, which is popular among Singaporeans for selfies and video messaging. Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo are among its Chinese business partners.

The artificial intelligence unicorn, which has a market value of US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion), has also ventured into Hong Kong and Japan.

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