[TIANJIN] Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will have more opportunities to pilot low-carbon solutions, and a new green and digital shipping corridor will be established between Singapore and Tianjin, among 15 new initiatives launched as part of the Tianjin Eco-City project.

This is under a new project collaboration framework announced on Thursday (Dec 7) at the 15th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Joint Steering Council in Tianjin, China.

Tianjin Eco-City was launched in 2008 as the second of three government-to-government projects between Singapore and China. It was intended as a platform for both countries to explore collaborations, pilot ideas and share best practices in sustainable development.

In the “next bound” of collaboration, the framework will strengthen the eco-city as a “pathfinder for climate-friendly cities”, said Singapore’s Ministry of National Development (MND).

It will broaden cooperation to span green growth, low-carbon living, ecological resilience, innovation and talent development, and governance.

“The eco-city will be one of the tangible demonstrations of the practical benefits that our upgraded bilateral partnership will bring to our people,” said National Development Minister Desmond Lee.

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“Having transformed salt pans, barren land and polluted water bodies into a highly liveable home… the new initiatives lay a good foundation for Singapore and China to promote high-quality green growth,” he added.

Through the 15 new initiatives, Singapore and China will deepen ties across the public sector, businesses and academia, in areas ranging from green shipping to talent exchange.

For example, both countries will develop the eco-city as an upgraded “national green development demonstration zone” that can “exemplify high-quality low-carbon economic growth and serve as a model for other cities in China and beyond”, said MND.

To strengthen maritime cooperation, Singapore and Tianjin have inked a deal to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between the two cities – the first such corridor between Singapore and China.

The corridor will act as a testbed for digital solutions, alternative fuels and technologies, as well as facilitate manpower development to support decarbonisation and digitalisation in shipping.

Another initiative is Keppel Corporation’s launch of an industry alliance for SMEs to deploy sustainability-related solutions in the eco-city, to strengthen it as an incubator of low-carbon businesses.

To date, four SMEs have joined the alliance and piloted their solutions there. The companies – Golden Forest, RenewMaterial, Kardia World and Spacelogic – are working on nano disinfection coating, eco-friendly furniture, digital visualisation and marketing respectively.

On Thursday afternoon, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang also attended the groundbreaking of the eco-city’s city centre, where a Green Innovation Park will eventually be built.

That day, Joint Steering Council meetings also took place for Singapore’s two other government-to-government projects with China: the China-Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI).

At the 24th SIP meeting, both sides reaffirmed the project’s role as a “pathfinder and inspiration for Singapore-China collaboration”, said the Prime Minister’s Office. Looking ahead to the SIP’s 30th anniversary next year, Singapore and China hope to develop a “stronger cooperation agenda” through a 10-year Cooperation Blueprint charting the next phase of development.

Meanwhile, at the 7th CCI meeting, Singapore and China stressed the continued importance of enhancing connectivity between South-east Asia and Western China. They also welcomed advancements made in areas of collaboration such as research and innovation, as well as healthcare.