China, Singapore reach consensus on upgrading bilateral cooperation

China and Singapore reached extensive consensus on upgrading bilateral cooperation at a key meeting here on Tuesday. The four areas of cooperation highlighted at the 10th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting, co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, are economic transformation, financial services, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as inclusive and sustainable growth. They also witnessed the signing of seven agreements covering cooperation in services trade, joint investment in third countries and food safety. "The participants in the meeting highlighted these areas for our cooperation to stay visionary and exemplary," a representative from the Chinese delegation told reporters. The Chinese vice premier said that the frequent meetings between Chinese and Singaporean leaders over the past year set out the directions for efforts to be made. He urged the officials to discuss in detail how the two countries can achieve "an upgraded version" of the bilateral cooperation. In economic transformation, one of the areas of cooperation highlighted, the Chinese side said at the meeting that they are keen to work with the Singapore side on the liberalization and facilitation of trade, investment and services. The Chinese delegation also said that they encourage efforts to facilitate Singapore's participation in its regional development. The two sides will also offer support for the Suzhou Industrial Park to export its development experience or invest in other provinces or even third countries within ASEAN. The Suzhou Industrial Park is a successful flagship bilateral cooperation project launched in the 1990s to spur China's industrialization. The two sides agreed to boost their cooperation in the financial sector, too, with measures to expand the channel for the flow of Renminbi capital between China and Singapore. They also agreed to launch direct foreign exchange trade between the yuan and the Singapore dollar in the interbank market. The Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Eco-City, another flagship bilateral cooperation project, will be encouraged to play a bigger role in pilot cross-border Renminbi operations. Efforts will also be made to boost the cooperation in international financial regulation and regulation of the derivatives markets. The two countries also agreed to boost the cooperation in education and human resources, and push for the establishment of a China-Singapore cooperation research center. The think tank organizations will also be encouraged to boost their exchanges and dialogues. They also agreed to boost their cooperation in the pursuit of inclusive and sustainable growth, in areas such as environmental protection, low-carbon growth and green building. The two sides also agreed to make efforts to establish cooperation mechanisms in food safety. The highlighted areas of cooperation also include approaches to improving the lives of the people, public services and social safety net. The Chinese official who spoke to reporters said that both sides agreed on a bigger role for the JCBC mechanism in boosting bilateral cooperation in economy and trade. "Representatives from both sides spoke highly of the JCBC mechanism. They think that one of its key features is that it has been closely aligned with the growth strategies of the two countries, especially that of China," the official said.