Economic ties between Singapore and Jiangsu have been growing steadily over the year, with bilateral trade growing 12.5% year-on-year to reach US$12.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2022. In this same period, Singapore’s direct investments in Jiangsu amounted to US$ 2.1 billion, which surpassed the full-year investments of US$ 1.4 billion in 2021.
Singaporean firms also continued to explore opportunities and expand partnerships across various sectors in Jiangsu, with 13 commercial agreements inked at the 16th Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council (SJCC) meeting, covering areas such as advanced manufacturing, sustainability, technology and innovation as well as for senior living.
The 16th SJCC meeting was co-chaired by the Minister in Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, and the Jiangsu Governor. The Vice Co-Chairmen, the Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment, as well as the Jiangsu Vice Governor, were also present. During the meeting, both leaders reaffirmed the strong ties between Singapore and Jiangsu and highlighted opportunities to strengthen cooperation in areas such as green development and innovation.
Enhancing green development and innovation collaboration
Green development
Singapore and Jiangsu have common sustainability goals; both sides will continue to pursue methods for increasing cooperation in green development through platform projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and the SIP Administrative Committee (SIPAC) at the recent Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting seeks to deepen collaboration on this front and pave the way for Singapore and Jiangsu companies to work on related pilot projects in the SIP. The Singapore Green Construction Development Alliance and SIP Green Industry Alliance also signed an MoU recently aimed at collaborating on research and development, and innovation in green technology.
Beyond the SIP, other initial green development opportunities across Jiangsu have also emerged. Surbana Jurong signed an MOU with Envision Energy and the Sheyang county government to conceptualise and create a zero-carbon industrial park in Yancheng city. PSA China will also be working with the Lianyungang Port Group to install renewable energy assets to generate clean electricity for its port terminals in Lianyungang.
Innovation
After the signing of the MoU between EnterpriseSG and the Jiangsu Department of Science and Technology at the last SJCC meeting, the Singapore-China Yangtze River Delta (Jiangsu) Joint Innovation Call was launched in June 2022. Over 30 joint applications were received for co-innovation in solutions covering areas such as sustainability, advanced manufacturing, BioMed and digitalisation.
Of these, 11 co-innovation projects will be jointly supported by EnterpriseSG and the Jiangsu Department of Science and Technology. These include a Singaporean industrial equipment supplier’s collaboration with Jiangsu Run Mo Automotive Inspection Equipment to co-develop an advanced automatic inspection system to detect surface defects on automobile vehicles and parts, which can replace the manual inspection process undertaken by automobile manufacturers and improve efficiency.
Strengthening economic partnerships under the SJCC
The Co-Chairmen commended the progress made under the SJCC and signed a new MoU to renew the partnership that will further business collaboration and chart the direction for future Singapore-Jiangsu cooperation, particularly in the areas of technology and innovation, as well as green economy and sustainability.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development stated that Singapore’s strong economic relations with Jiangsu are built on pathfinding projects such as the SIP and the Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi-tech Island, and further reinforced through the SJCC platform. The collaboration will be strengthened and the SJCC will be leveraged to catalyse new cooperations and exchanges, especially in green development and innovation, and further strengthen the nexus between Singapore and Jiangsu.
