A trusted friend to both Beijing and Taipei, Singapore was the natural choice for historic Xi-Ma cross-strait summit

To both mainland China and Taiwan, Singapore is a blessed place. In April 1993, Wang Daohan and Koo Chen-fu, the respective heads of government-sanctioned organisations from each side of the Taiwan Strait, held their first talks in the city state. The groundbreaking talks marked the beginning of peaceful engagement between the two erstwhile enemies of a bloody civil war.

Twenty-two years after those talks, President Xi Jinping (習近平) met Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, in Singapore – the first such summit in 66 years.

So why did the leaders choose Singapore for their political rendezvous? Much has been said about Singapore’s impartiality towards both sides of the strait. But that’s not the whole reason. Practically all East Asian countries adhere to the “one China” diplomatic stance, and therefore stand neutral in cross-strait affairs.

Without offering something unique, Singapore would have no role to play.

Apart from being impartial, Singapore has never been aloof about China-Taiwan affairs. It has been a devoted and trusted friend to both Beijing and Taipei, and it is this that makes it stand out.

Singapore is an independent sovereign country, but its largely ethnic-Chinese origins help in its bonding with China and Taiwan. Most people in both places usually feel comfortable with Singapore, and their leaders can feel at home there without any sense of cultural alienation. I cannot imagine Xi and Ma being at ease with each other in Hanoi or Kuala Lumpur, for instance.

But there are more important aspects to Singapore’s uniqueness.