It has been almost forty years since Chinese and Singaporean leaders last met each other - in 1978.
At that time, Han Tan Juan was a chief editor for former Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs.
He recalls Lee's meeting with the then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping saying it was unlike any other in history, given the fact the China and Singapore hadn't yet established diplomatic relations.
"His visit was extraordinary as a diplomatic activity because Singapore and China had not established relations back then, and the ties between the two countries were not as strong as today. There were still many
