Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu Meets with Minister Gou Zhongwen, Chairman He Junke and Minister Luo Shugang in Beijing

Minister Grace Fu is in Beijing to discuss areas for cultural, sports and youth cooperation.

Minister Fu called on Minister Gou Zhongwen of the General Administration of Sport in Beijing. This was the first meeting between the two Ministers, who reaffirmed the warm and longstanding bilateral sports relations between China and Singapore. Minister Fu congratulated China on hosting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and Asian Para Games. Both ministers also welcomed the stepping up of sports exchanges under the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the All-China Sports Federation (ACSF) and Sport Singapore.

Minister Fu will also be meeting with Mr. He Junke, Executive Secretary of Communist Youth League (CYL) and Chairman of All China Youth Federation (ACYF). The National Youth Council (NYC) and ACYF share an existing MOU on youth cooperation. The meeting will explore future collaborations and exchanges with China in youth volunteerism, leadership exchanges and internship opportunities. These exchanges will strengthen youth relations, and facilitate reciprocal learning between China and Singapore.

Later this evening, Minister Fu will be calling on Minister of Culture Luo Shugang. This is the first time Minister Fu will be meeting Minister Luo. They will be discussing deepening and broadening cooperation through an 8^th Singapore-China Executive Programme (EP). Under the 7^th EP, there have been several government exchange visits between both sides, as well as cooperation in visual and performing arts, heritage and museums as well as library programmes.

Earlier this week, Minister Fu was in Xi’an where she met Mr. Jiang Feng, Vice-Governor of Shaanxi Province and Mr Shangguan Ji Qing, Mayor of Xi’an. Minister Fu also visited several famous cultural and heritage institutions, such as the Shaanxi History Museum, Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, the Great Mosque of Xi’an, Famen Temple, Han Yang Ling Mausoleum, as well as the Shaanxi Institute of Preservation of Cultural Heritage (SIPCH), which is also in discussion to sign a MOU with the National Heritage Board (NHB)’s Heritage Conservation Centre.