Chongqing project significant for China-Singapore relations: PM Lee

Hangzhou, China

THE southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing is an "ideal place" for Singapore's third government-to-government project with China, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday.

He was in the busy metropolis over the weekend as part of his four-day visit to China. This was his first trip to the city since the launch of the project - the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI) - last November.

"Sitting at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, Chongqing is centrally located in China and the fastest-growing Chinese city in recent years," said Mr Lee on Facebook.

He added that the CCI fits China's "One Belt, One Road" strategy as well as the development of China's western region.

Many Singapore businesses such as real estate developer CapitaLand and logistics firm YCH Group are already active in Chongqing, while Chinese companies are capitalising on Singapore's location to access the wider Asia market.

A fast-growing city with a population of 30 million, Chongqing is one of four municipalities under the direct control of China's central government. Last week, it was announced that Chongqing would be among one of seven new free trade zones in China.

Mr Lee discussed the CCI with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting in Hangzhou last Friday, and again with Chongqing party secretary Sun Zhengcai on Saturday.

During his state visit to Singapore last November to mark 25 years of formal diplomatic relations, Mr Xi announced that Chongqing would be the site of the project - after the city edged out Chengdu and Xi'an, the two other contenders from western China.

The CCI is the third China-Singapore project after Suzhou Industrial Park (1994) and Tianjin Eco-City (2008).

At PM Lee's meeting with President Xi, the two leaders hailed the "good progress" of the CCI so far, particularly in the areas of financial services and aviation connectivity.

In the 10 months since the CCI's launch, the project has sealed cross-border renminbi financing deals worth more than US$6 billion. The number of direct flights between Singapore and Chongqing has nearly tripled, from five a week previously to 14 now, with more flights expected to be added soon.

Mr Lee said in his Facebook post: "The CCI is a significant new initiative in our bilateral relations. May our cooperation with China continue to grow in strength and depth."

While in Chongqing, the prime minister and his delegation had lunch with senior executives of Singapore companies that already have or intend to set up operations in the city.

Among those at the meeting were Singapore Business Federation chairman and Pacific International Lines managing director Teo Siong Seng, Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong, and CapitaLand president and CEO Lim Ming Yan.

Mr Lee later went on a short tour of CapitaLand's 24 billion yuan (S$4.9 billion) Raffles City Chongqing project in the city's Chaotianmen area. The project, the largest single development by a Singapore company in China, is due to open in phases from 2018.

CapitaLand is also setting up a new Sino-Singapore Collaboration Centre with the Yuzhong District government at Raffles City Chongqing to facilitate the provision of modern services to the city.