Singapore remains confident in China’s future, deeper collaboration despite challenges: SM Lee
The Chinese economy retains potential for growth, with longer lifespans boosting the workforce and the transition to urban industries meaning higher productivity
SINGAPORE remains confident in China’s future despite its recent challenges, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, adding that it would be “short-sighted and unwise to write off” the world’s second-largest economy.
“China’s development is an enterprise that will take a century,” he said at an event in Suzhou on Monday (Nov 25).
He was speaking at a commemorative event for the 30th anniversary of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), as part of his six-day official visit to China that began on Sunday.
China faces very different challenges today, compared to when it began reforms decades ago, noted SM Lee. Its growth will be slower with its mature economy and a population that has peaked.
The government has also been tackling structural issues such as an oversupply in the property market and local government debt.
At the same time, China’s external environment has become more complicated. Geopolitical tensions have been hurting global cross-border trade and investments – which affects China too, as “its economy relies on a stable global multilateral framework, as well as trade and investments”, he said.
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Under these pressures, China’s government has been prioritising political, social and national security considerations, which implies less exuberant growth.
Yet Singapore remains confident in China, said SM Lee. The country has shown that it can take a strategic perspective, maintaining consistent long-term policies despite short-term fluctuations.
China’s economy retains “considerable capacity” for growth, with longer lifespans boosting the workforce, and the move from rural to urban industries meaning higher productivity.
Its tech industry is also “highly competitive and advanced”, with Chinese companies leading in areas such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels.
“Finally, we must never underestimate the Chinese people’s determination for their nation to succeed and stand tall in the world,” said SM Lee.
Singapore believes that “a growing and prospering China can and should play a major constructive role internationally”, contributing to the prosperity of other countries and a stable international order, he added.
The Republic remains committed to deepening bilateral cooperation with China, with cooperation in the SIP remaining a significant part of the effort, he said.
The SIP was established in 1994 as the first government-to-government collaboration between Singapore and China. It aimed to adapt Singapore’s experience in economic development, investment promotion and urban planning to suit China’s national circumstances.
SM Lee noted that he was personally involved in the project’s early years. As deputy prime minister at the time, he co-chaired the first seven SIP Joint Steering Council meetings with then vice-premier Li Lanqing, and subsequently, then vice-premier Wu Yi.
The Chinese side increasingly took the lead over time, eventually taking on the role of senior partner, he noted.
Three decades since it began, the SIP now spans 278 square kilometres (sq km), “well beyond” the original area of 80 sq km.
Its gross domestic product grew from some 40 billion yuan (S$7.4 billion) in 2003 to nearly 400 billion yuan in 2023, contributing to Suzhou’s position as China’s sixth-largest city by GDP last year.
Looking ahead
“The SIP has greatly benefited both our countries,” SM Lee said. It has become a model for a “high-quality investment ecosystem” that attracts foreign investments – inspiring similar initiatives across China – while enabling Singapore to participate in China’s reform and build a reputation in the country.
Its success has also paved the way for further bilateral projects, including the Tianjin Eco-City and Chongqing Connectivity Initiative.
“These have helped our two countries to grow alongside each other, understand each other better, and work more closely together for mutual benefit,” SM Lee said.
For the next phase of the SIP, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and China’s Ministry of Commerce have drawn up a 10-year cooperation blueprint, to grow emerging sectors such as green development, the digital economy and biomedical sciences.
More broadly, as it continues to develop, the SIP will demonstrate China’s “continuing openness to the world and its desire to welcome investors”, said SM Lee. “In an era of uncertainty and anxiety, it will be a beacon of cooperation and hope.”
Earlier on Monday, SM Lee met and had lunch with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng. Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the SIP to bilateral cooperation, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
The leaders also discussed ways to chart a path forward for the SIP in the next 10 years, and expressed confidence that the SIP will continue to serve as a pathfinder and model for future bilateral cooperation.
SM Lee’s trip continues in Beijing on Tuesday, where he will call on and be hosted to dinner by President Xi Jinping. SM Lee will round off his three-city official visit in Shanghai later this week.
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