Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will lead a multi-agency delegation to China from 18 to 23 April 2004. He will visit Liaoning province and Tianjin city.

Mr Shanmugaratnam will co-chair the inaugural meeting of the Singapore-Liaoning Economic and Trade Council with Liaoning Governor Zhang Wenyue. He will also deliver a keynote speech at a Forum in Dalian on the opportunities for Singapore companies in Northeast China, which is co-organised by the local governments of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and supported by the Dalian Municipal Government, the PRC Embassy to Singapore, and International Enterprise Singapore and Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).

Besides meeting Liaoning Party Secretary Wen Shizhen and Governor Zhang Wenyue, Mr Shanmugaratnam will be meeting the government leaders of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and the Mayors of Shenyang, Dalian and Fushun. He will also be launching a number of Singapore ventures in the Liaoning province. In Tianjin city, Mr Shanmugaratnam will meet with Mayor Dai Xianglong and officiate at the opening of another Singapore venture.

During the trip, Mr Shanmugaratnam will also be visiting a few top schools in Liaoning province and Tianjin city together with a few school principals to foster linkages with schools in Singapore.

Mr Shanmugaratnam will be accompanied on the trip by a business delegation coordinated by the SCCCI and officials from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and International Enterprise Singapore and the Ministry of Education.