Asian Insider: Singapore-China cooperation | Electric vehicles get going

Dear ST reader,

We hope you’ve been keeping well. 

In our Asian Insider newsletter this week, Singapore and China have agreed on a raft of new collaborations at their 17th annual bilateral cooperation summit, focusing on issues of sustainability and technology. The meeting also unveiled the name of the first panda cub born in Singapore to parents Kai Kai and Jia Jia, who are on loan from China. Meanwhile electric vehicles look set to get a kickstart in South-east Asia as ride-hailing giants like Grab and Gojek team up with car- and scooter-makers to replace their petrol-guzzling fleets.

Economies will have to be more resilient, more digitalised and more reliant on technology and innovation going forward, said Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at the recent Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting which he co-chaired with Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng. The annual summit yielded 14 deals that showed Singapore and China’s commitment to working together in the areas of sustainability and technology, writes China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei. Discussions also centred on improving market access, facilitating digital trade and strengthening supply chains, assistant business editor Kang Wan Chern reports. 

In a nod to the two countries’ cordial relations, Mr Heng and Mr Han took the opportunity to unveil the name of the first panda cub born in Singapore, Le Le. Our correspondent in Beijing, Danson Cheong tells us more about China's cuddly diplomats in the latest instalment of Power Play.

News last week that hardliner Chen Quanguo was stepping down as the Communist Party chief in Xinjiang was seen by some as China softening its stance on the once-restive region. But it’s too soon to assume Mr Chen’s successor Ma Xingrui will be less tough on ethnic minorities as he shifts focus to economic development, says global affairs correspondent Benjamin Kang Lim.  

Alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang are just one of the thorny issues in the US-China relationship. Listen to this podcast hosted by Nirmal Ghosh, where China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei and former diplomat Bilahari Kausikan discuss the two superpowers' rivalry.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob faces an uphill task to restore his government’s credibility after its slow flood response, amplified by images and videos on social media, caused public anger to swell, writes regional correspondent Leslie Lopez. 

Heavy rains also set off dozens of landslides across the country, with hundreds of residents in an upmarket condominium in capital Kuala Lumpur having to evacuate over structural faults, reports Nadirah H. Rodzi.

Experts tell Malaysia correspondent Ram Anand that unbridled land clearing for property development, logging and mining, poor drainage and weak disaster management are all factors contributing to the deadly floods.

Ride-hailing apps could kickstart demand for electric vehicles in South-east Asia, writes regional  correspondent Jeffrey Hutton, as they team up with car and scooter manufacturers to green their fleet. Oil companies are also getting in on the act by investing in EV plants, giving themselves a foothold in renewables even as they continue to profit from polluting fossil fuels.

Advancing women’s interests in society is a continuous endeavour. The women featured in our special series talk about the challenges they face and how they have overcome obstacles, be they a life-threatening illness, entrenched bias in politics or stifling societal pressure, to get their voices heard. Look out for the final article on period poverty in Malaysia, and one woman’s fight to solve it.

Read our Asian Insider features here.

It’s got more juicy scandals than a K-drama. South Korea’s presidential race has thrown up dirt on the families of the candidates, prompting one insider to remark that it was turning into an “election of dysfunctional families”. Our correspondent in Seoul, Chang May Choon reports on how the revelations have caused the two main candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol, to falter in opinion polls.

Read more dispatches from our foreign correspondents in Letters from the Bureau.

That’s it for today. Keep safe and see you in the new year!

 

Lim Ai Leen
Deputy Foreign Editor