Singapore and China deepen ties, sign four agreements and 15 MOUs

SINGAPORE has deepened and broadened ties with China with the signing of four agreements on Monday and another 15 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on Sunday.

The four agreements are on the formation of a Sino-Singapore joint expert panel with the aim to provide advice on eco-city development; collaboration between International Enterprise Singapore and the Chongqing municipal government to drive transport and logistics developments; trilateral intellectual property cooperation between the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, the State Intellectual Property Office of China and Guangdong Province; as well as deeper cooperation in the biomedical sector in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), between the National University of Singapore, the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and the SIP administrative committee.

Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean on Monday co-chaired meetings with Zhang Gaoli, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice-premier, in Beijing.

Before the high-level Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting, both sides had a good discussion on the progress of bilateral cooperation and explored new areas of collaboration under the "Belt and Road" initiative, Singapore's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The 13th JCBC meeting reviewed bilateral cooperation in the areas of economic transformation, finance, people-to-people exchanges, and inclusive and sustainable development, it added.

DPM Teo and Mr Zhang agreed to explore opportunities for partnerships between Singapore and Chinese companies venturing into regional markets.

Among other things, the parties also touched on the importance of strengthening Singapore-China collaboration in the SIP in areas such as the internationalisation of Chinese companies, innovation, research and intellectual property.

PMO said Central Organisation Department Minister Zhao Leji and DPM Teo have agreed that the 6th Leadership Forum would be held later this year.