China, Singapore sign $240m in deals amid closer regional integration

Tourists pose for photos inside the Cloud Forest at Singapore's Gardens by the Bay on Oct. 3, 2024. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

China and Singapore recently signed 23 cooperation agreements worth about $240 million, covering sectors such as transportation and logistics, financial services, information and communications, green energy, educational technology, and healthcare, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

These agreements were reached following the 10th China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) Joint Implementation Committee Meeting held in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Tuesday.

The latest deals mark new progress in the China-ASEAN economic partnership, following the announcement on May 21 by trade ministers from China and the 10 ASEAN countries of the full completion of negotiations on the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).

At the CCI meeting, China and Singapore discussed key priorities for the next phase of the initiative's development, committing to deepening connectivity and expanding collaboration in emerging sectors, underpinned by digitalization and sustainability, according to a statement from Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry on Wednesday.

Highlights of the new agreements include financial sector initiatives, where companies from both sides will leverage the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program to channel overseas capital into China's securities market, promoting cross-border financial connectivity and supporting the two-way opening of financial markets, according to Xinhua.

In the information and communications sector, relevant companies signed agreements to deepen cooperation in healthcare data operations, and cross-border data application demonstrations. In education, Singapore's Raffles Education plans to invest in establishing a private high school in the Chongqing Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Additionally, both sides are exploring new areas of collaboration. For instance, Singapore's YCH Group will establish a localized digital commerce platform in Chongqing, while SP Group will invest in building green energy and digital energy management infrastructure in the Chongqing Lianglu Guoyuan Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone.

Singapore's Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said that "the CCI continues to be an important platform in positioning Singapore and Chongqing as twin hubs that drive deeper and broader region-to-region connectivity between Southeast Asia and Western China," per the official statement.

Singapore and China will strengthen collaboration by building on the CCI's successful projects and policy innovations, and support companies in seizing new opportunities in the emerging sectors of digitalization and sustainability, Teo noted.

Specifically, both parties will focus on developing a digital New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and promoting the regular operation of a cross-border e-commerce and digital financial services platform between Chongqing and Singapore, per the Xinhua report.

These new cooperation projects signal a positive intent to deepen economic and trade ties on the foundation of the CAFTA 3.0 negotiations, Song Ding, a research fellow at the China Development Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Amid current global economic and trade uncertainties, such collaboration not only serves the mutual interests of both parties but also contributes to maintaining economic stability in the region," Song said.

The new trends in China-Singapore cooperation align with CAFTA 3.0's commitments to expand collaboration in emerging fields. CAFTA 3.0 introduces nine new chapters covering areas such as the digital economy, green economy, and supply chain connectivity, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

These new chapters will help China and ASEAN promote broader and deeper regional economic integration under new circumstances, and will facilitate the integration of their industrial and supply chains, the ministry said.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the CCI. Over the past decade, the two sides have signed 323 government and commercial agreements worth a total of $25.75 billion, according to Xinhua.

China's strengths in advanced manufacturing and tech innovation create new growth opportunities for Singapore, while Singapore's position as a global financial hub will facilitate China's trade diversification and yuan internationalization, Su Chang, research assistant at the Institute of Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Thursday.