SINGAPORE – The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) has done much to facilitate business links between the Republic and China during the Covid-19 pandemic, and will become even more relevant as China relaxes its travel and border restrictions.
President Halimah Yacob, speaking on Sunday at a Chinese New Year celebration jointly organised by Business China and SCCCI, said she was confident the chamber will continue to play a key role to further enhance trade and investment ties with the world’s second-largest economy, which ended its zero-Covid policy in December.
China’s economic growth suffered a significant slowdown in 2022 as intermittent lockdowns aimed at wiping out the Covid-19 virus disrupted supply chains, logistics and trade.
“With China’s relaxation of travel and border restrictions, the chamber’s role in facilitating business links will be ever more important and relevant as local enterprises seek to re-engage and explore new opportunities in the China market,” Madam Halimah said. She noted that in the past three years, during the pandemic, the chamber helped more than 700 local enterprises in their internationalisation efforts through the Singapore Enterprise Centres in Shanghai and Chengdu.
Additionally, the SME Centres under the chamber have reached out to more than 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), providing business advisory services and helping them transform and build resilience in areas such as data management and security.
SCCCI president Kho Choon Keng said the chamber looks forward to driving the business community and its members to facilitate Singapore’s economic development.
“Despite the uncertain global economic outlook, there are opportunities amid risks,” he said, referring to the reconfiguration of global supply chains. “If Singapore businesses can stay determined and uphold the spirit of resilience, diligence and innovation, we will definitely be able to scale new heights.”
Referring to Singapore’s network of trade agreements with countries across the globe, he said: “As a small country, only by breaking into bigger markets, remaining open to collaboration and welcoming talents will Singapore be able to enlarge our economic pie.”
Madam Halimah also confirmed that an upgrade of the Republic’s free trade deal with China is in the works. The upgrade is aimed at further opening up investment opportunities in China for Singapore businesses. She added that Singapore continues to broaden its economic cooperation with China in areas such as the digital and green economies, and deepening supply chain connectivity.
“The Government is also working to upgrade the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) to provide for more transparent investment rules and improved market access for investments and services,” she said.
The CSFTA was originally signed in October 2008 and implemented on Jan 1, 2009. In November 2018, the two sides signed the upgrade protocol of the FTA that was implemented in October 2019. In December 2020, the two countries announced they would start follow-up negotiations under the upgrade protocol to further enhance bilateral trade, and investment liberalisation and facilitation.
This was brought up again when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bangkok in November 2022, on the sidelines of the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
In their first face-to-face meeting in three years, the two leaders agreed that efforts need to be made to conclude follow-up negotiations on upgrading the China-Singapore FTA at an early date.
China has been Singapore’s top investment destination since 2007 and was its top trading partner in 2021, claiming a share of 14.2 per cent in Singapore’s total merchandise trade with the world.
