The third Singapore-China inter-government project will be based in Chongqing, western China, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a state banquet in Singapore on November 6. The project will focus on strengthening strategic connectivity in China. President Xi told Singaporean President Tony Tan that China would work closely with Singapore to reinforce political trust and further deepen practical coordination on the basis of mutual trust, equality and benefits. Tony Tan, for his part, said over the years, bilateral cooperation has gone beyond the traditional areas of economy and trade to new areas such as social governance, human resources cooperation, sustainable development, financial cooperation and food safety. The Chinese leader is on his first State visit to Singapore to mark the 25 th anniversary of diplomatic ties. On November 7, he is scheduled to meet Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and witness the signing of memoranda of understanding and bilateral agreements on various sectors, including the upgrading of the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to gear up for the next economic cooperation phase. Tan said the FTA upgrade would lay a groundwork for both countries to join regional economic frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as well as raise the ASEAN-China FTA to a higher level. Singapore is currently China's largest foreign investor while China has been Singapore's largest trading partner since 2013.-VNA