China-Singapore connectivity initiative boosts bilateral ties

CHONGQING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity on Friday marked the 10th anniversary of its launch, with resulting bountiful benefits driving high-level connectivity between China's western region and ASEAN countries.

According to the commerce commission of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, under this initiative, China and Singapore have signed a total of 347 government and business cooperation projects -- featuring total value exceeding 26 billion U.S. dollars over the past decade.

The initiative was the third inter-governmental cooperation project established between China and Singapore, after China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park in east China and China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in north China.

This third project is different to the more traditional park-based mode, having Chongqing as the project operation center, promoting four key cooperation areas -- financial services, aviation, transport and logistics, and information communication.