SINGAPORE - Singapore and China's northern port city of Tianjin will be deepening cooperation in sustainable and smart development, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges.

On Tuesday (Dec 1), the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the ninth Singapore-Tianjin Economic and Trade Council meeting, which was held virtually this year. It will spur development of the Jing-Jin-Ji region and promote collaborations related to the Belt and Road Initiative, with opportunities for Singapore companies to participate in areas such as Tianjin's green development.

National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who co-chaired the meeting with Tianjin mayor Liao Guoxun, said that the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City has transformed from a barren wasteland into a green and vibrant city with a population of 100,000.

The eco city, which broke ground in 2008, is one of the flagship cooperation projects between Singapore and China. Singapore and Tianjin can promote the replication of this project's experiences to other cities in China, in support of China's green development priorities and 2060 goal to become carbon neutral, Mr Lee said.

Among the new initiatives Singapore and Tianjin have agreed to undertake are book and cultural exchanges between Singapore's National Library Board and the Sino-Singapore Friendship Library in Tianjin Eco City.

Mr Lee said: "I am confident that these collaborations will bring the partnership between Singapore and Tianjin to the next level."

Six other MOUs were also signed on Tuesday, including an agreement to form the Tianjin Eco-City International Business Alliance that will facilitate networking, collaboration and internationalisation for Singapore and Chinese companies looking to expand into each other's respective markets.

Singapore's renewed cooperation with Tianjin on Tuesday follows other commitments to create more opportunities for firms in both Singapore and China, in areas such as Jiangsu province and the city of Shenzhen.