The 3rd Government Cooperative Project Between China and Singapore： A New Engine for the Development of Chongqing

The Opening and Project Contracting Ceremony of China-Singapore （Chongqing）Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity （Photograph by Liu Wangyang）

It is the bright future of Chongqing that results in the approval of the China-Singapore （Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity， the third cooperative project between the governments of China and Singapore. It was offi cially approved in January this year. The magnetic effect therein has manifested itself in many cases： an overseas enterprise has issued panda bonds in this inland area for the fi rst time； a number of local enterprises in Chongqing went to Singapore and issued enterprise bonds； both sides are planning to cooperate in constructing submarine optical fi ber cables. … In the first half of the year 2016 alone， the total amount of contracted projects has come up to 13.14 billion US dollars.

Leading a delegation from Chongqing Municipal Government，Mayor of Chongqing Huang Qifan attended the contractsigning ceremony of the third China-Singapore cooperative project， visiting Singaporean government departments and well-known enterprises to discuss with them the details of the project.

On November 7， 2015， President Xi Jinping and Primer Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the signing of the framework agreement of “the China-Singapore （Chongqing）Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity”. This marked the official approval of the third project between the two governments， and Chongqing was the very place where the project is located. On the same day， Mayor of Chongqing Huang Qifan and Chan Chun Sing， minister of the Singaporean Prime Minister Office， signed the Implementation Agreement on the Construction of the China-Singapore （Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity. According to this agreement， Chongqing and Singapore should center on the theme of “Modern Interconnection and Modern Service Economy”， follow the principles of mutual benefit， win-win cooperation， feasible business， sustainable development and replicable patterns，and engage in cooperation in such fields as financial service， aviation， transportation， logistics， information and communication technologies. Meanwhile， both sides should form a web of collaboration and promote mutual development by actively integrating themselves into “the Belt and Road”Initiative， and the strategies of the Western Development and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

As a new， innovative and high-level demonstrative project between the two governments with a high starting point， the project is sure to lead Chongqing-Singapore cooperation into a wider fi eld with a higher level. It will be a new engine driving the construction of Chongqing into a highland of inland opening up and a new point for local economic development. Meanwhile， it will help to promote the opening-up of inland China， especially China's western regions.

The construction of the opening channel and platform has greatly promoted the industrial development of Chongqing，which will in turn support the extending and perfecting of opening functions.