President Hu Jintao and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong witness the signing of several memos between the two countrieson Thursday morning, including the establishment of a China Culture Center in Singapore and launch of a joint panda research project, in which China will present a pair of pandas to Singapore to mark the 20th anniversary of bilateral relations that falls in 2010. [Zhao Huanxin/China Daily]

President Hu Jintao and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong witness the signing of several memos between the two countries on November 12 in Singapore, including the establishment of a China Culture Center in Singapore and launch of a joint panda research project, in which China will present a pair of pandas to Singapore to mark the 20th anniversary of bilateral relations that falls in 2010.

The governments of the two countries signed a MOU on establishing a China Culture Center in Singapore. According to the Singaporean Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, the China Culture Center would be a venue for Chinese arts and cultural exchanges in Singapore. It would offer classes in such areas as Mandarin, calligraphy and wushu (Chinese martial arts), and house a library of books on China. It would also hold exhibitions on Chinese and Singaporean art, film screenings as well as lectures on various aspects of Chinese culture.

There are currently seven China Culture Centers worldwide.

The joint panda study agreement was signed by heads of wildlife preservation authorities of both countries. President Hu said Thursday morning that in order to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Singapore next year, China had decided to provide Singapore with a pair of pandas for joint study.

The agreements signed also include a framework agreement between the foreign ministries of the two countries on exchanges and training of middle- to senior-level officials from 2010 to 2014.

Another document signed Thursday is the MOU by the two governments on cooperation between China's Zhejiang University and the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

The Singaporean prime minister said that Singapore and China should learn from each other and carry out win-win cooperation. Moreover, next year, Singapore would host the Youth Olympics. Singapore could learn from China's experience in hosting the Olympic Games and other grand events, Lee said.

Editor: Dong Jirong