BEIJING - Singapore Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong will arrive in China on Thursday (Sept 27) for a three-day visit, where he is due to attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Tianjin Eco-city.
He will also be meeting Chinese leaders in Beijing and Tianjin, where he is expected to discuss bilateral cooperation in both the Eco-city and other areas, said the Ministry of National Development (MND) in a statement.
In Tianjin, Mr Wong is expected to co-chair the annual Singapore-Tianjin Economic and Trade Council with the city's mayor Mr Zhang Guoqing.
Both leaders will discuss future areas of economic collaboration in sustainable development, trade connectivity and innovation, said the MND.
But the highlight of Mr Wong's visit will be the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Eco-city.
The Tianjin Eco-city is the second of three joint-government projects between Singapore and China after the Suzhou Industrial Park. The third is the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative.
The project is meant to be a model of sustainable development for China.
When the Eco-city began in 2008, it was a heavily polluted plot of land with severe water shortage problems.
Now, it has transformed into a leafy 30 sq km township with 100,000 residents and more than 7,000 registered companies and institutions.
But development of the city is not finished, and both sides are now focusing on the city centre and developing a new central business district there.
In its entirety, the Tianjin Eco-city is also part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region that is being transformed into China's new growth engine, and Chinese leaders have said the Eco-city's experiences will be crucial in creating a more environmentally friendly development model.
Last week, Singapore and China inked a deal during a Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting in Singapore, where they agreed to work together to replicate the Tianjin Eco-city's development experience in both Chinese cities and other Belt and Road regions.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, a Sino-Singapore Friendship Library will also be launched during Mr Wong's visit.
With Mr Wong is a delegation comprising Singapore businessmen across various sectors including logistics, innovation and professional services.
He is also accompanied by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development Sun Xueling, as well as officials from MND, Enterprise Singapore and other agencies involved in the Eco-city project.
