At an early National Day celebration with Singaporeans living in Germany on Sunday, Mr Lee had spoken about meeting world leaders such as Mr Xi, United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg.

They are important “friends and connections Singapore has”, and the meetings are about further collaborations but also “a signal to both sides and to the world that relations are in good order and we’re moving ahead”, he said.

In his wrap-up interview, he also noted that as China becomes more influential, “we have to consider how we can develop our relationship with China”.