Singapore and China sign 25 agreements to further boost bilateral cooperation

28 November 2024

On 11 November 2024, Deputy Prime Minister (“DPM”) and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong co-chaired the 20th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (“JCBC”), the 25th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council (“JSC”), the 16th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city JSC, and the 8th China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity JSC meetings with Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Ding Xuexiang in Singapore.

Memoranda of Understanding announced

DPM Gan and Vice Premier Ding had a bilateral meeting prior to the JCBC and related JSC meetings, where they reaffirmed the strong and longstanding partnership between Singapore and China. This is reflected in the JCBC, which has evolved over the years from an initial focus on development-oriented initiatives like trade, human resource development, and environmental and water resources to now include the digital and green economies, legal and judicial cooperation, and cultural cooperation.

Twenty-five Memoranda of Understanding and agreements were announced at the JCBC covering a variety of topics including:

  • promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative;
  • establishment of a green and digital shipping corridor;
  • implementation of an electronic origin data exchange system under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Green finance and capital markets initiatives

Also on 11 November 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) announced the new green finance and capital markets initiatives to strengthen financial cooperation with China further to the JCBC.

The initiatives include catalysing green financing flows, exploring piloting the “over-the-counter” bond market framework between China and Singapore,  strengthening collaboration in indices and exchange traded funds product links, and facilitating financial institutions’ access to Chinese markets.

Reference materials

The following materials are available at the Prime Minister’s Office Singapore (PMO) website www.pmo.gov.sg and the MAS website www.mas.gov.sg: