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On Nov. 1, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and China's Vice Premier Han Zheng co-chaired the 18th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), and signed a "bumper crop" of 19 memorandums of understanding (MOU).

This year's JCBC is the first in-person bilateral summit between Singapore and China since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic; with the 2020 and 2021 editions held virtually.

Heng thanked Vice Premier Han for making his first overseas trip since the pandemic started to attend the meeting in Singapore, and also congratulated him on the successful conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which was held in October.

Bumper crop of MOUs signed

Speaking after the meeting in a doorstop interview, Heng said that the resumption of the JCBC's in-person format demonstrated the "continued importance and relevance of the JCBC as our apex platform for bilateral cooperation".

He also referred to the 19 MOU's as a "bumper crop of deliverables" in areas like the environment and the digital domain, as well as the continuing development of the three government to government projects, and eight provincial business councils opened across China.

The previous high water mark was the 2021 edition with 14 MOUs.

Heng said the meeting and MOUs represented three broad themes. Firstly, digital and digital transformation, with the two countries working together on e-commerce, paperless customs clearance, and digital finance.

Secondly were green and climate issues, with China working on its "dual carbon" goals and Singapore's own Green Plan 2030, Heng said that Singapore looks forward to working with China to push new frontiers in sustainability.

Thirdly was the strengthening of connectivity, such as in the New International Land Sea Trade Corridor which aims to connect Western China and Southeast Asia, aiding the region's economic growth and strengthening supply chain resilience.

Heng said that the agreements represented the breadth and depth of Singapore and China's relationship, and represented concerns of not just the two countries, but also for the region and the world.

Cross-border travel

Han is the most senior Chinese official to visit Singapore since the start of the pandemic.

Han has co-chaired the JCBC for several years, and until recently was part of China's Politburo Standing Committee, the highest level decision making body in China.

As part of China's leadership transition, the 68-year-old is no longer part of the standing committee, and is likely to hand over the Vice Premiership to a successor in 2023.

Heng spoke about the importance of the resumption of the in-person bilateral meetings, and how it demonstrated the JCBC's ongoing relevance in Sino-Singapore relations, and it was an "important milestone" as Singapore and China progressively stepped up their people-to-people exchanges.

As such, Singapore plans to continue to work with China to restore weekly flights between the two countries to pre-Covid levels, in a safe and gradual manner.

Heng said that cross border travel would strengthen ties and encourage economic recovery and growth, noting that he and Han had a "good discussion on this area".

Government to Government projects

Heng and Han also discussed the ongoing progress of the three government-to-government projects between Singapore and China, the Suzhou Industrial Park, the Tianjin Eco City, and the most recent China-Singapore Demonstration Initiative in Chongqing.

Of note was the upcoming 15th year anniversary of the establishment of the Tianjin Eco-City which would occur in 2023, then in 2024, the Suzhou Industrial Park would commemorate its 30th anniversary.

Heng said that the establishment of the Eco City in 2008 predated climate change becoming the top of the global agenda and that the project was a good testbed for the innovations and solutions that would be needed globally.

The anniversary was also an opportunity to refresh how low carbon development and scale solutions could be pioneered.

Vice Premier Han will be in Singapore until Nov. 2, where he will meet with several Singaporean ministers, such as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.

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Top image via Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI)