Suzhou Industrial Park: Singapore’s evolving role 30 years on
Singapore continues to work on the Suzhou Industrial Park through identifying new areas of cooperation and by helping Chinese companies to go to Singapore and vice versa.
The Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), the first government-to-government project between Singapore and China launched in 1994, is a well-known pioneering industrial park in China. With Singapore no longer driving SIP’s progress due to a change in ownership structure in 2001 and given China’s rapid economic development over the past 30 years, it would seem that Singapore’s role in SIP is no longer important. However, a study trip by the author to SIP in May 2024 revealed that Singapore continues to make notable contributions to the industrial park.
One area that underscores Singapore’s important role is the establishment of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) at the deputy prime ministerial level to oversee SIP and other areas of cooperation between Singapore and China. The high-level JCBC demonstrates the importance that China attaches to bilateral relations with Singapore. (The usual level of representation for such committees with other Southeast Asian countries, except for Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, is at the foreign minister level or below.)
Both sides are exploring newer areas, including transforming SIP into a leading net-zero industrial park focusing on low carbon emissions, new energy development, and green buildings.
Tapping on the Singapore experience
Although the committees for Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand are also pegged at the deputy prime minister level, the JCBC is a notch higher as the Chinese side is headed by a Politburo Standing Committee member, who is more senior than a Politburo member.
The JCBC, established in 2003, was built on the foundation of the Joint Steering Council (JSC) on the SIP. The latter was launched in 1994 to oversee the park’s development. Now, the JSC continues to meet regularly to review the SIP’s progress and identify new areas of cooperation.
Singapore and China are proactively exploring ways to upgrade the SIP to ensure it stays ahead of the competition posed by other industrial parks in China. A Chinese source told the author that one operating principle the SIP Administrative Committee (SIPAC) adopts to ensure that SIP stays competitive is to closely follow what Singapore does to transform its economy.
If SIPAC finds Singapore’s policies relevant, it would implement them in the SIP, such as its emphasis on the aviation and biomedical sectors in earlier years. Both sides are exploring newer areas, including transforming SIP into a leading net-zero industrial park focusing on low carbon emissions, new energy development, and green buildings.
Another area is exploring mediation as a means of resolving commercial disputes in SIP. A step in this direction was the setting up of the International Commercial Mediation Talent Training Base in SIP in May 2024. This involves the Singapore International Mediation Centre conducting seminars and training for commercial mediation personnel in SIP to build up a talent pool in this area.
More than 110 Chinese companies have ventured overseas through the International Business Cooperation Centre (IBCC) established in Singapore in 2021.
Helping Chinese companies go regional
Singapore is helping Chinese companies in SIP go regional as well. More than 110 Chinese companies have ventured overseas through the International Business Cooperation Centre (IBCC) established in Singapore in 2021.
The IBCC has helped Chinese companies like Qichacha (database operator), Tongcheng (online travel operator), Garea (healthcare technology), Basecare (medical devices) and JoyMed (medical devices) expand overseas by providing affordable office space and connecting them with relevant partners in Singapore. A Singaporean working in SIP said that Chinese companies were increasingly looking to Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries, given China’s strained relations with the US and Europe.
The flow of Chinese companies to Singapore is not just one-way. The IBCC has also helped Singapore-based companies like Vivo Surgical (medical devices), Luminicell (biotechnology), Willowmore (smart security solutions provider), Westcom Biotech (green technology) and Microtube (wearable sensor developer) to enter the Chinese market by going to SIP.
Likewise, Singapore’s renowned Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), through its A*STAR Partners’ Centre established in SIP in 2020, has helped 37 companies in biomedical science, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing expand their businesses in China. This two-way flow of companies between Singapore and the SIP shows the mutual benefits from the collaboration.
Since the launch of SIP, Singapore has consistently provided training for Chinese officials sent by SIPAC. Although the level of seniority of these Chinese participants has decreased over time, Singapore remains committed to providing training if there is demand. The continued dispatch of Chinese officials for such training demonstrates the ongoing value China sees in this engagement. Every year, roughly seven to eight batches of about 25 officials attend this training.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the two sides went online to share experiences on how Singapore and SIP tackled the pandemic, and more importantly, supported businesses and workers during this difficult period.
On Singapore’s part, there is a conscious effort to send its officials to SIP to gain firsthand insights into developments there and to understand how SIP fits into the overall development priorities of the Yangtze River Delta. This knowledge enables them to work better with their Chinese counterparts to support the continued growth of the SIP.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the two sides went online to share experiences on how Singapore and SIP tackled the pandemic, and more importantly, supported businesses and workers during this difficult period. In July 2023, Business China launched the Suzhou chapter of the Youth Interns Exchange Scheme (YES) to enable both countries’ youth to gain greater exposure via internship opportunities in Singapore and China.
Thirty years on, the work to ensure that SIP makes progress and stays ahead of the competition continues. Although Singapore is no longer the main driver in SIP, it is still able to add value to the SIP’s development, and the Chinese side appears eager to continue with this engagement.
This article was first published in Fulcrum, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s blogsite.
