Upgraded Singapore-China free trade agreement among 24 signed at annual top-level meeting
The agreements were unveiled at the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting, co-chaired by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.
The 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting held at Hilton Tianjin Eco-City hotel on Dec 7, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Louisa Tang)
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TIANJIN: Singapore and China on Thursday (Dec 7) announced the signing of an upgraded free trade agreement that will give Singapore businesses greater access to China's markets.
The deal is one of 24 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed between Singapore and China – up from 19 last year and the most in recent years. They cover areas such as sustainability, education, trade, food security and healthcare.
The agreements were unveiled at the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting held at the Hilton Tianjin Eco-City hotel, co-chaired by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.
The JCBC is the highest-level annual forum between China and Singapore. It reviews the substantive collaboration between both nations and charts the direction of cooperation.
In his remarks at the start of the JCBC meeting, Vice Premier Ding said he had a “very good talk” with Mr Wong and the Singapore delegation, which included several ministers, at an earlier bilateral meeting on Thursday.
“Today’s mechanism meetings will focus on three key words in our relations: All-round, high quality, and future-oriented," Vice Premier Ding added, referring to the name of the recently upgraded Singapore-China bilateral partnership.
"We all hope that through this meeting, we can further establish a new landscape for China-Singapore mutually beneficial cooperation in a new era."
Mr Wong, who is on a four-day trip to Beijing and Tianjin, said the Singapore delegation was "very happy" to attend the first JCBC meeting to be hosted in-person since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City marks its 15th anniversary this year. Mr Wong described it as a "visionary project that seeks to develop a model of city development that is environmentally sustainable".
"Fifteen years ago, we all know that this area was a barren wasteland but through our joint efforts working together ... we have transformed this place into a liveable and beautiful city that we see around us," Mr Wong said.
"It is truly nothing short of a miracle, and it reflects what both sides can do when we combine our efforts."
Another agreement announced on Thursday was a new 30-day mutual visa-free travel arrangement between Singapore and China, with the aim to implement it in early 2024.
Singapore and China on Thursday (Dec 7) announced the signing of an upgraded free trade agreement that will give Singapore businesses greater access to China's markets. The deal is one of 24 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) unveiled at the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting. Olivia Siong with more.
Singapore's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Thursday that Mr Wong and Vice Premier Ding agreed during the JCBC meeting that cooperation between both countries had been "comprehensive and progressive", and that both sides should "continue to adopt a forward-leaning approach".
At their earlier bilateral meeting, Mr Wong and Mr Ding noted the impact of global geopolitical tensions, climate change and the digital revolution on lives and livelihoods, added PMO.
"They also affirmed the importance of promoting greater people and business flows between both countries, as well as exploring collaborations to deepen connectivity, including cross-border financial connectivity," PMO noted.
Along with the JCBC meeting, Mr Wong and Vice Premier Ding co-chaired the 24th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council (JSC), the 15th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City JSC, and the 7th China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Cooperation JSC.
These JSCs review the progress of and discuss further cooperation on the three flagship government-to-government projects.
CSFTA FURTHER UPGRADE PROTOCOL
Under the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) Further Upgrade Protocol, Singapore will secure greater market access to China’s services sectors, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a press release.
China has committed to not limiting foreign equity limits for Singapore investors in 22 sectors such as construction, retail and wholesale, and architectural and urban planning services.
In 2021, China was Singapore’s fourth-largest trading partner in services while Singapore was China’s third-largest.
Singapore investors and service suppliers will “also enjoy more liberal and transparent rules that level the playing field for them to invest in and trade with China”, said MTI.
In terms of telecommunications, a new services chapter will be established to provide clearer rules and enhanced transparency for telecommunications regulatory processes, as well as facilitate industry collaboration for innovation and development, added MTI.
The CSFTA Further Upgrade Protocol was inked by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.
Mr Gan said: “I hope businesses will tap on this enhanced agreement to seize opportunities in China and I look forward to working more closely with my Chinese counterparts to enhance our cooperation in areas of mutual interest.”
The CSFTA, which is China’s first comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement with an Asian country, came into force in 2009.
When it was upgraded in 2019, bilateral trade and investments grew at 7 per cent and 7.7 per cent per year on average respectively.
Negotiations for this latest upgrade began at the 16th JCBC meeting in 2020 and concluded last month.
FINANCE INITIATIVES
Separately, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the People’s Bank of China are embarking on a pilot to allow tourists from both countries to use digital yuan, or e-CNY, in Singapore and China.
This arose from the signing of an MOU on digital finance cooperation in 2020.
In a press release on Thursday, MAS said the use of e-CNY for tourism spending will make it more convenient for travellers when making purchases during their overseas trips.
Other new digital finance and capital markets initiatives were discussed at the JCBC meeting, including the launch of an exchange-traded funds product link between the Singapore Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange.
MAS said that the launch “opens up greater collaboration opportunities between fund managers in both markets” and improves investors’ access to exchange-traded funds products in each other’s markets.
On top of that, Singapore’s local banks and China’s UnionPay International have begun early-stage feasibility discussions on a “potential remittance linkage” between Singapore’s PayNow function and China’s UnionPay, under each jurisdiction’s laws and regulations.
“Such a linkage could facilitate secure, convenient and cost-effective cross-border payments and remittances between the two countries,” added MAS.
DIGITAL POLICY DIALOGUE
Separately, Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) along with China’s National Development and Reform Commission have agreed to establish a new bilateral policy dialogue platform.
The Singapore-China Digital Policy Dialogue will be set up in the first half of 2024. It aims to facilitate high-level discussions on developments and policy issues in the digital domain, such as in digital trade, AI governance and commercial data flows.
Both countries agreed on the establishment of the platform when Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in April during an official visit to Beijing.
