MOU signed at Recent China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting

The agreements signed at the sidelines of the 10th JCBC meeting aim to strengthen bilateral cooperation with China and enable greater access for Singapore businesses in China's key growth areas. Singapore and China also agreed to explore further collaboration in third countries, which will also benefit companies from both sides, including SMEs. I will elaborate on some of the key opportunities for Singapore businesses, especially our SMEs.

First, the Chinese services market is large and has strong growth, supported by the Chinese government's 12th 5-Year Plan. China is now the third largest services trading nation, and in 2012, the value of China's services imports grew 18% to reach US$280 billion1.

MTI, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and other agencies will continue to support Singapore companies which are interested to expand into China's services market. Our efforts include organising business missions, facilitating business matching with Chinese partners and providing grants. Since 2012, MTI and IE Singapore, together with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), have also been supporting our companies' participation in the annual China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). SMEs looking to profile themselves in China through this platform can approach SBF.

Second, China is devoting more resources and increasing its support for Science and Technology (S&T) to grow its innovation capabilities. The PRC Ministry of Science and Technology and Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee (SIPAC) have committed to increase their support for our S&T entities based in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). Our S&T entities will enjoy stronger support to commercialise their technologies. This is especially useful for start-ups whose innovations can benefit from the mass market in China. Details are being worked out.

Third, urbanisation is another key priority for the Chinese government, and, hence, smart city solutions will grow in demand. In this area, IE Singapore, IDA and SIPAC will collaborate in Smart Transportation, Smart Education and Smart Environment. SMEs can offer their expertise and solutions in info-communications, environment, urban planning and transport solutions in SIP, which has been designated as one of the pilot smart cities in China.

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Our cooperation in the Tianjin Eco-City (TEC) can also serve as the template for sustainable development as China develops. The Singapore-Tianjin Economic and Trade Council (STETC), IE Singapore and trade associations have introduced opportunities to over 300 SMEs in the past year through missions, seminars and business matching, with more and more SMEs seizing the opportunities2. The track records gained in SIP and TEC can translate to increased business opportunities for our SMEs in other cities in China over the longer term.

Finally, riding on the rapid growth of developing economies in Africa and Southeast Asia, IE and the China Development Bank (CDB) will work together to foster partnerships between Singapore and Chinese companies, such as joint infrastructure ventures, in these third markets. The collaboration will include facilitating co-development of industrial parks in third countries and exploring the provision of special financing facilities. Singapore companies in growth sectors like infrastructure planning and development, environmental services, business services and energy and mineral resources can tap on these opportunities.