By Wang Fengjuan

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Connectivity Priority of Chongqing Initiative

By Wang Fengjuan

Opening Ceremony for the Administration of China-Singapore （Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity & Signing Ceremony of Cooperation Agreements in Chongqing on January 8， 2016. Sun Zhengcai （second right）， Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee & Secretary of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee； Chan Chun Sing （second left），Minister in Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore and Secretary-General of National Trade Union Congress； Huang Qifan （first left）， Governor of Chongqing Municipal Government； Gao Yan （first right）， Vice Minister，Ministry of Commerce， PRC are present

on April 16， 2016， a forum for the promotion of the China-Singapore（Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity was held in Chongqing， the first of its kind since the official launch of the project in January.

On January 8， 2016， the first session of the joint implementation committee for the Initiative was held to mark the official launch of this project.

On November 7， 2015， China and Singapore inked the framework agreement on the China-Singapore （Chongqing）Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity in Singapore， specifying that Chongqing would become the operational center of the third G-to-G cooperative project between the two countries. They also signed the Agreement on Building the China-Singapore （Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity. Under the agreement， Chongqing and Singapore will focus on “modern connectivity and modern services”， follow the principle of mutual benefit， achievable business results， sustainable development and a replicable mode， with financial services， aviation， transportation，logistics， and information & telecommunications technology as the key cooperative fields.the entire concept should actively fit into the Belt and Road Initiative， the western region development program， and the Yangtze River Economic Belt development strategy， and form a cooperative network for mutual development.

In Line with Belt & Road

This project was proposed when China advocated cooperating with countries along the Belt and Road. As an ASEAN member， Singapore has its unique characteristics in port construction， industrial zone management and industry-city mutual development. Chongqing， an important city in the Southwest China part of the country， and a municipality directly under the Central Government， offers a solid foundation for development in many aspects. Because of that， the two countries chose it as the base for important cooperation in many aspects.

The project originated from the drawing board of the top leadership of both China and Singapore and was nurtured by both. In recent years， Chongqing has accelerated the pace of opening up the hinterland and has strengthened its role of providing impetus to surrounding areas， thus becoming a crucial strategic support along the Belt and Road and in the Yangtze River Economic Zone.The demonstration initiative will enable China and Singapore to cooperate more fully in the development and utilization of the abundant resources and the broad market in the Chinese hinterland， while making better use of domestic and international markets and resources.

With the theme of “modern connectivity and modern services”， the demonstration initiative seamlessly fits the vision of the Belt and Road Initiative，and becomes an organic component of it. China and Singapore will now be able to work more closely to implement the Belt & Road and share the opportunities it others.

Innovative Significance

The demonstration initiative differs from the routine industrial development zone or usual urban development modes. Instead， it refers to the cooperation based on trade in services within the FTA framework among nations. It plays both the demonstration and leading role， as well creating concentration and radiation effects. that means the project will focus on the service industry， especially in finance and logistics， which is different from the existing joint projects of Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City.

According to Singapore officials， the third cooperation projects differs from the other two in both scope and design. The Suzhou and Tianjin projects are based on physical location with specified geographic boundaries. the third initiative is free from geographical restriction， thus being able to build a new mechanism for connectivity. It not only promotes the development in Chongqing with the entire western region of China， but also links Chongqing with the rest of China， and with other parts of the world. In the meantime， the project will also provide connections not just with Singapore but all ASEAN countries， and elevate the connection to new heights. China and Singapore have reached agreement on policy innovation and visions in an attempt to integrate their economic and strategic values.

According to Chan Chun Sing，Singaporean Co-chair of the joint implementation committee， initial projects will lay an important foundation for the birth of future projects， especially in the fields of finance and aviation. From the perspective of Singapore， the important lubricant for modern economy is finance and logistics. If these two aspects can contribute creatively as the pioneer， they will be a means to promote development in other fields.

The first session of the joint implementation committee decided to implement the“11+7” in a more detailed way （11 innovative measures upon which the two sides have reached consensus and seven others that need further research）. Based on the orientation of the projects and the development needs， new innovative measures will be proposed according to the progress made in the cooperation.

Chongqing Is Ready

Chongqing has already made preparations for related connectivity. As the No 1 investor in Chongqing， Singapore has seen the Temasek Holdings， City Development Limited， and the Andover Leisure Pte Limited invest in real estate and trade in the municipality. Chongqing and Singapore have planned to establish a mutual fund to underpin connectivity projects. Funding may come from Temasek， the local government of Chongqing Municipality and the Chinese Government. Flights will be available between Chongqing and Singapore every day. Cooperation on education will be carried out to propel strategic connectivity.the cooperation also involves power supply.

As an international business cooperation initiative， the best structure doesn’t mean magnificent architecture， or the number of enterprises settling down， or the number of projects with foreign investment， or the number of new jobs created in the industrial park or the city involved， as all these still represent the low end of the development. A well-developed industrial park takes on the strategic layout and business arrangement， follows the development path， and finds appropriate industrial targets and the fields to get involved in a down-to-earth manner.

The China-Singapore （Chongqing）Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity is the third G-to-G cooperation project between China and Singapore，which is different from the previous Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City. It will attract all forces to build the“connectivity” network with Chongqing acting as the center of its operation， rather than development or construction at a certain concrete locality. the new initiative between China and Singapore now takes the entire concept to a new level.

Office block of China-Singapore （Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity