President Xi Jinping called on Singapore's prime minister to join the fight against "hegemony" and protectionism in trade as they met in Beijing on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first official visit to China lasts until Thursday.

He met Xi on Tuesday morning at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, with the president urging their two countries to work to "stand on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice", according to CCTV.

Xi told Wong that "the world cannot return to hegemony or be dragged back to the law of the jungle", a veiled swipe at the United States, after President Donald Trump launched a barrage of tariffs this year on countries including China and Singapore.

Wong, in turn, told Xi he believed the Singapore-China relationship was "more important than before" in a time of "global turbulence and uncertainty".

"We can work together to establish closer ties and... continue to strengthen multilateralism and the rules-based global order for the benefit of all countries," Wong said.

Xi also noted that this year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

He said the two sides have consistently upheld mutual understanding and respect, which has provided a solid foundation for the stable and healthy development of bilateral relations.

Cooperation between the two countries has aligned with China's development priorities at various stages, yielding substantial outcomes such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, significantly contributing to each country's modernisation efforts, and also setting a benchmark for cooperation among regional nations, Xi added.

Wong, who succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, the son of founding premier Lee Kuan Yew, in 2024, has warned the trade-dependent city-state could be hit hard by Trump's tariffs.

Although Trump imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on Singapore, the country is vulnerable to a global economic slowdown caused by the much higher levies on dozens of other countries because of its heavy reliance on international trade.

Following his meetings in Beijing, Wong will head to the northern Tianjin for a meeting of the World Economic Forum. (AFP/Xinhua)