By Wang Fengjuan

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China-Singapore （Chongqing）Demonstration Initiative

By Wang Fengjuan

In 2015， during his visit to Singapore， President Xi Jinping proposed that the Chinese side is willing to work together with ASEAN members to elevate their strategic partnership to new heights.

The China-Singapore （Chongqing）Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity （hereinafter referred to as Chongqing Demonstration Initiative）has officially entered the substantial startup phase. It is the third China-Singapore G-to-G project following ones in Suzhou and Tianjin. the first joint implementation committee meeting was held on Jan 8， 2016，when an agreement covering 12 projects worth $6.56 billion was signed.

It is a landmark move for Singapore，Southeast Asia's leading financial and shipping center， to select Chongqing for this third cooperation with China， the theme of which is “modern connectivity and modern services”. How the Chongqing Demonstration Initiative will develop has again drawn much attention in Asia and beyond.

Chongqing： Third City of Cooperation

President Xi Jinping expressed his great expectations for the project during his visit to Chongqing on Jan 4， saying it must be implemented at a high starting point and high level， building on the first two G-to-G projects in Suzhou and Tianjin that gained mutual benefits thanks to the strategic matching between the two countries.

In 1994， Singapore and China launched the first G-to-G project the Suzhou Industrial Park. At that time， the Yangtze River Delta Economic Circle had entered its second development stage. Suzhou， located within this circle， needed industrial support， while Singapore was undertaking restructuring， seeking to turn to finance and entrepot trade for its continued prosperity. Based on the Singapore mode， the two countries worked together to build the industrial park to attract foreign investment and high-tech enterprises. The Industrial Park now involves investment by nearly 100 enterprises on of the global top 500 list.

A bird's eye view of downtown Chongqing

The year 2008 witnessed the ground breaking ceremony for the Tianjin Eco-City， regarded as a model of urban design emphasizing ecology. It manifested the resolve of both sides to deal with global climate change， strengthen environmental protection and save resources and energy. The Eco-City drew on many successful experiences of Singapore to build a livable city for harmonious coexistence among human beings， among human beings and nature， by emphasizing protection of resources and the environment.

In 2015， during his visit to Singapore，President Xi Jinping proposed that the Chinese side is willing to work together with ASEAN members to elevate their strategic partnership to new heights. Along with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong， he described the relationship between the two countries as a partnership of all-round cooperation keeping pace with the times. The third project not only involves economic cooperation but also has strategic significance in many other aspects， including the two countries' joint efforts to build a bright future.

After research and investigation，Chongqing was finally chosen as the site for the new cooperation. Singapore is Chongqing's biggest investor， and Chongqing ranks high among the five Chinese provinces and municipalities in which Singapore has invested. Geographically， Chongqing acts not only as the integrated water-air-land transportation hub in the hinterland， but also as an important window towards Europe and ASEAN on the “Belt and Road”. Moreover， Chongqing，being located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze Golden Waterway， connects the Yangtze River Economic Zone and the South China Economic Zone.

Chan Chun Sing， Minister in the Singaporean Prime Minister's Office，recalled how， through investigation， he realized Chongqing， drawing on years of inland opening up， provided a sound foundation for cooperation.

Teo Chee Hean （right）， Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister， Coordinating Minister for National Security， and Minister for Home Affairs， visiting the Chaotianmen Pier in Chongqing on July 30，2014

Veil-Lifting

The Chongqing Demonstration Initiative emphasizes connectivity， which determines that it is different from Suzhou and Tianjin that take advantage of their locations in the developed East. The Chinese and Singaporean governments will make joint efforts to build a highly connected and wide-ranging network， instead of developing or building at a certain locality.

The Chongqing Demonstration Initiative is divided into three levels. The highest level is the coordinating council headed by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean who will meet annually. The second level is the working committee headed by Ministry of Commerce， involving 19 other Chinese ministries and commissions， and eight Singaporean ministries led by Chan Chun Sing. The third level is the executive committee which reviews and approves the work flow and guidance in project evaluation within its framework， and specify policy innovations and work priorities.

On Jan 8， 2016， the authority of the Chongqing Demonstration Initiative made its debut with the establishment of the management committee. It comprises four branches in finance， aviation， logistics and telecommunication， and is staffed with officials from 18 ministries and commissions of the Chongqing Municipal Government， officials from eight ministries and commissions of the Singapore Government and experts from six fields.

Weng Jieming， Member of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and Executive Vice Mayor， serves as the committee's director， and Vice Mayor Chen Lvping in charge of foreign trade is executive deputy director.

The project involves “coexistence and overlap between the tangible and intangible，between stock and increment， and between Chongqing and the rest of the world”. The tangible side refers to about 10 square km in the Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing，a logistics park jointly built by China and Singapore. The stock and increment refers to the fact that， in recent years， Singapore has become China's biggest foreign investor. Among the stock projects in Chongqing，quite a large number are foreign invested，including over $10 billion from Singapore.the Initiative also aims at setting up a new mode of connectivity combining Chongqing and the rest of world. Chan Chun Sing hopes it will elevate cooperation between the two countries to a new level， whereby Chongqing and Western China， Singapore and its neighboring countries and ASEAN are all connected to help raise relations to new heights.

Development Southwards

“Under the theme of ‘modern connectivity and modern services'， the Chongqing project seamlessly fits into the vision of the Belt and Road Initiative，” said ChongqingMayor Huang Qifan. the project will make it possible for Singapore to get deeply involved in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

A glimpse of the mountain city of Chongqing

When it comes to the orientation of the Chongqing Demonstration Initiative，according to Koh Chin Yee， CEO of Longus Research Institute， the first aspect is to support the industrial upgrading and economic restructuring in China to create new scope for cooperation on connectivity and modern services. The second aspect is to accelerate development in the central and western parts of China to conjoin with the Belt and Road Initiative. As for Singapore， business opportunities will surely come whether within China or along the Belt and Road.

According to Danny Lee Chian Siong，Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the China-ASEAN Business Association，Chongqing is a key junction on the Belt and Road. The project will play a radiation role with important influence on countries along the Belt and Road. China-Singapore cooperation will provide references for other countries. And the enhanced relationship between the two countries will inspire other ASEAN countries to follow suit.

The Chongqing project manifests the vigor and vitality of the governmental cooperation between the two countries and provides Singaporean enterprises with broad room for development and an enormous market. In the meantime， China will draw on the advanced technology and management skills from Singapore， resulting in a perfect win-win situation.

Sharing Dividends of Innovation

Singapore has carried out diversified investments in Chongqing. Raffles City，CapitaLand's biggest comprehensive project in China， was built in Chaotianmen Square in Yuzhong District. CapitaLand is investing over 24 billion yuan （$3.7 billion） in eight high-rise buildings in the shape of ship's sails by the river， a new landmark in Chongqing.

In the finance field， ICBC Singapore is among the first financial agencies participating in the Chongqing Demonstration Initiative. It has worked together with ICBC Chongqing to sign 10 significant strategic cooperative agreements with administrations， banks and enterprises in Chongqing and Singapore， providing overall financial services for the two countries' cooperation on strategic connectivity. Besides， United Overseas Bank （China）signed an MOU with the Financial Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal Government on Jan 8， 2016 to facilitate trans-boundary investment and trade between Chongqing and Southeast Asia （including Singapore）.

Huang Qifan emphasized that Singapore led the world in telecommunications，and Chongqing needed to cooperate with Singapore in the era of big data and cloud computing. The cooperation should also involve data center， software development and big data development. In the framework agreement and supplementary agreement signed by the Chinese and Singaporean Governments， it specified the “11+7” innovative measures and their role in the present and future pilot areas， industrial development and regional strategy the Chongqing Demonstration Initiative can enjoy. It can be predicted that， as it is pushed forward， on the basis of the demand for concrete projects， China and Singapore will unveil more innovative measures and policies at the right moment for mutual benefit.

Links

I. History of Chongqing Demonstration Initiative

1. Planning

At the 10th Singapore-China Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in October 2013，Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli proposed to his Singaporean counterpart Teo Chee Hean to implement the third G-to-G project in Western China. Subsequently， the two sides reached consensus and established a ministerial joint council to promote implementation.

2. Site Selection

In February 2015， Chan Chun Sing，Minister in the Singaporean PM's Office， and Gao Yan， Vice Minister of Commerce， led the China-Singapore joint inspection team to three candidate cities of Chongqing， Chengdu and Xi'an. After rounds inspection， evaluation and selection， the two sides agreed to implement the project in Chongqing.

On May 27， 2015， the ASEM Industry Dialogue on Connectivity was held in Chongqing， with a theme of “Advancing Asia-Europe Connectivity through Innovation”. That happened to coincide with the target of the third G-to-G project between China and Singapore.

On July 30， 2015， Chongqing and Singapore inked agreements on five projects to jointly build the airport economic zone.

3. Decision Making

On Oct 13， 2015， Vice Mayor Cheng Lvping， Director of Foreign Economic and Trade Administration and eight other officials of the Chongqing Municipal Government were assigned to visit Singapore with Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. The two countries decided on Chongqing as the operations center of the third G-to-G project of “China-Singapore （Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity”.

On Nov 7， 2015， the Chinese and Singaporean Governments signed the framework agreement and a supplementary agreement on constructing the project. The Chongqing Municipal Government and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore inked an implementation agreement，marking the official launch of the project.

On Nov 11， 2015， Sun Zhengcai，Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee， chaired a symposium on related research into project implementation.

4. Substantive Launch

On Jan 8， 2016， the first session of the joint implementation committee of the project was held， when the administration bureau was officially established and the agreement on cooperation projects were inked.

China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park GDP 2012-2015 （RMB and USD）￥250bn ￥200bn（$31bn）￥207bn（$32bn）￥190bn（$29bn）￥200bn￥176bn（$27bn）￥150bn 2012　2013　2014　2015