BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Fifty experts and scholars from China and Singapore attended the Fourth China-Singapore Forum in Beijing on Tuesday

    Singaporean Ambassador to China Chin Siat Yoon said that both sides should understand and respect each other's core interests, and the forum played an indispensable role in this respect.

    "At a time when the world is in rapid flux, our academic and public thinkers should meet on a more frequent basis."

    China People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) president Yang Wenchang said the forum was established to promote the development of China-Singapore and China-ASEAN relations.

    He said the forum was a platform for the experts and scholars from both countries to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues, to explore new ways of strengthening cooperation and bring forward strategic advice for both governments.

    Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies and the National Heritage Board, said the two governments set up the forum to facilitate a better understanding of each other's core interests, policies, concerns and challenges, and to learn from each other's experiences.

    The fourth China-Singapore Forum was divided into four sessions:

    -- Session 1: China-Singapore Relations: First 20 years and Beyond;

    -- Session 2: Social Harmony: China and Singapore;

    -- Session 3: Cooperation Between China and Singapore, and China and ASEAN in the Post-Global Financial Crisis;

    -- Session 4: Building the East Asian Community: Which Way Ahead.

    The annual forum, initiated in 1998, is held alternately in China and Singapore.