[1]: 117  Diplomatic missions were established in the early 1990s based on trade and the warming of ties from other ASEAN countries towards mainland China.

It has engaged co-operation with other ASEAN members and China to strengthen regional security and fight terrorism, while participating in the organisation's first maritime exercise with the latter.

[7] Despite the disputes, Singapore and Beijing have consistently affirmed their close relationship and bilateral ties, deepening their co-operation in numerous areas, including defense, economy, culture and education, as well as the One Belt One Road Initiative.

Singapore has also vowed to fully support and promote China's position in ASEAN, while managing the differences between the Chinese state and the organisation.

As a result, Singapore did not establish diplomatic relations with China until the other countries in Southeast Asia had decided they wanted to do so, to avoid portraying a pro-China bias.

[30] Relations between the two countries gradually improved as China and Singapore forged agreements in free trade, education, foreign investment, modern armament and technology.

[31] The People's Republic of China has officially offered Singapore to shift its training facilities from Taiwan to Hainan Island.

[33][34] In 2004, shortly before Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took office from the then incumbent Goh Chok Tong, he made a visit to Taiwan to familiarise himself with the latest developments there.

[35] The People's Republic of China took offence to the trip due to the complicated political status of the region[36] Later in 2004, Chinese government put bilateral relations on hold.

[37] In his maiden National Day Rally speech, Lee criticised the Taiwanese leadership and populace of overestimating the support they would receive if they were to declare Taiwan independent.

[43] The same year, Yin Jinnan of the PLA National Defence University commented that "Beijing should make Singapore pay the price for seriously damaging China's interests" with sanctions.

[46]: 56–57  The shipment was allegedly seized because American President Lines (APL), the private shipping company engaged by the Singapore military to handle the shipment, did not have the appropriate permits for the vehicles equipment,[47] though it has been alleged that China manufactured the incident to protest against the Singaporean Army's use of Taiwan for training against the backdrop of worsening ties between both states then.

[46]: 56  Commissioner of the Customs and Excise Department, Roy Tang Yun-kwong, said that shipping company American President Lines would likely face criminal charges over the incident for suspected breach of the Hong Kong Law.

[51] In 2019, American President Lines and the captain of the involved ship was charged with violating the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations, which they both pleaded not guilty to.

[65][66] Such a viewpoint has been institutionalised: Nanyang Technological University offers master's degree programs that are well-attended by Chinese public officials.

In fact, in one these early meetings, Chinese officials spoke of their affinity toward visiting Singaporean officials, referring to the latter as "kinsmen", to which Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew remarked, while acknowledging "a very special relationship", "We are different like the New Zealanders and the Australians are different from the British.

[78] The differing Singaporean and Chinese expectations lead to misunderstandings when China and Singapore's foreign policies are in conflict, as described above.

[79] Examples of this conflict include a curry dispute that pointed to an immigrant family's difficulty with accepting the local culture,[80] an illegal bus driver strike in 2013 that challenged Singapore's sense of law and order,[81] and a traffic collision by a Chinese immigrant driving at 178 km/h killing several people that angered Singaporeans.

[82] Some Singaporeans view these instances as manifestations of Chinese immigrants' lack of respect of the local culture, and an unwillingness to integrate.

[93] In June 2022, both countries' defence ministers signed two agreements to cooperate in military education and academic exchanges with officials from Singapore Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army being able to attend courses conducted by each other.

[93] Singaporean journalist Maria Siow[94] wrote in July 2020 that in line with China's media narratives, the mainland Chinese she met tended to see Singapore as a one-party state that tolerates no dissent, but also as efficient and corruption-free, and responsible for teaching China a lot during its reform process, with Lee Kuan Yew also viewed as an amazing leader.

[95] According to a November 2020 survey conducted by scholars from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the University of British Columbia, 69% of Chinese respondents held a favourable view of Singapore.

[99] Another survey conducted in 2022 by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies also had most Singaporean respondents viewing China positively.