Five years later, Lee, at the age of 74, came to the city again. He visited the WSIP and the Singaporean Seagate Co in the city during this third, but short trip.

After 20 years of development, WSIP has made important contributions to Wuxi's open economy. "When the Singaporean government introduced Wuxi to investors, many of them could not find the city on the map; but they still settled in the city out of trust in the government of Singapore," said Yang Erguan, an official from the administration committee of Wuxi New District who was in the welcoming delegation during Lee's 1997 visit.

The panoramic view of the Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park [Photo provided to China Daily]