SINGAPORE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Cao Zhongming, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Singapore, arrived in the island state on Sunday, according to a statement released by the Chinese embassy in Singapore.

The ambassador made written remarks upon his arrival, noting that it's a great honor to come to Singapore, the beautiful garden city state.

"As close neighbors, China and Singapore have enjoyed time-honored friendly exchanges with cultural similarities, shared philosophy, integrated interests and complementary advantages," he noted.

China-Singapore relations are always forward-looking, strategic and demonstrative, which not only gives a strong boost to the development and prosperity of the two countries but also sets a benchmark for countries in the region, the ambassador stressed.

"Looking forward, China and Singapore will strengthen the comprehensive and innovative cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, green and digital economies, food security, financial sector, aviation and people-to-people exchanges," the ambassador noted.

"In particular, the two sides will work together to harness synergies in new fields like digital transformation to further unlock growth opportunities geared to future development," Cao said.

Cao is the 13th Chinese ambassador to Singapore.