Economy

In 1994, Singapore and China embarked on the Suzhou Industrial Park project. How has Suzhou progressed since then? What lies behind the city’s recent announcement of a “revival” of its opening up journey? What do these spell for Singapore-China relationship? SPH Chinese Media Group head Lee Huay Leng shares her thoughts after attending the Further Opening-up Conference in Suzhou.

Prof Chen Kang opines that after over 40 years of reform and opening up, China is still heavily influenced by the planned economy of its past. China is also stamped with characteristics of market socialism, as its early reform is modelled after the Hungarian experience. Hence, Chen suggests that China should heed the warnings of the eminent Hungarian economist János Kornai, as it takes its next steps forward in its economic reform.

ISEAS senior fellow Malcolm Cook does a quick comparison between Asia's two leading multilateral lenders, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Bank and the Japan-led Asian Development Bank. Which is more powerful and influential?    

With their complementary strengths, China and Singapore can undertake Singapore-China projects that meet the needs of developing countries, says academic Gu Qingyang. Among other things, he suggests that the two countries can establish a third-party market cooperation and coordination mechanism to turn the BRI into a platform for win-win global collaboration.

Since taking office, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been pursuing improved relations with China. ISEAS academic Malcolm Cook looks at what the Philippines has gained over the past three years.

In this two-part article, prominent Hong Kong commentator and columnist Yang Jinlin assesses Chongqing’s strengths such as its strategic location and expertise in smart city building and waste management while sharing his personal reflections on how the megacity has changed and will continue to grow as it moves from one decade to the next. Read about the future of smart cities, and Chongqing’s achievements in waste management in the second part.

In this two-part article, prominent Hong Kong commentator and columnist Yang Jinlin assesses Chongqing’s strengths such as its strategic location and expertise in smart city building and waste management while sharing his personal reflections on how the megacity has changed and will continue to grow as it moves from one decade to the next. Read about Raffles City Chongqing, a 2019 project by CapitaLand Limited, and Chongqing's web in this first part.

China's latest BRI railway project through Laos, connecting northern Thailand to China's southwestern province of Yunnan, has the potential to facilitate China's shipment of goods to the markets of mainland Southeast Asia. However, international attention is focused on the more than US$1.5 billion combined debt exposure that Laos has racked up for the railway project, with the prospect of national resources such as "underground mineral resources" being used as collateral for loan financing. Time will tell if the economic benefits for Laos will outweigh the costs.

Zhu Ying asserts that the nub of the issue in the China-US trade war is a high level of distrust. Tariff tit for tats are just symptoms of that root problem. If not arrested, it will thwart any real progress in the trade talks.