SMU Associate Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan commented that Singapore's bilateral relations with China have deepened further in 2013. China has, for the first time, appointed a Politburo Standing Committee member, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, as Chairman of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation. This sends an important message that the Chinese intend to enhance this important bilateral relationship. It highlights the strategic relationship of the two countries, although both sides are reluctant to say so. He said that while the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation takes a comprehensive approach to bilateral relations, it should focus on social and cultural relations between the two countries, in addition to their political and economic relations.