CHINA’S growing internal demand and the shift in consumption patterns in the post-pandemic era are key trends that will create opportunities for trade relations between Singapore and China.

Making this point on Monday (Nov 6) was Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling, who was speaking at the sixth Singapore-China Trade and Investment Forum in Shanghai.

In her speech, she said that China’s rising internal demand is partially driven by its fast-growing middle class. This, coupled with the trend of people becoming more cautious with their spending post-Covid, shows that consumers are increasingly prioritising quality over quantity.

At a separate dialogue during the event, Low noted how the strong trade relationship between Singapore and China has benefited from a shared mindset and an absence of communication barriers.

According to latest figures, bilateral trading volume reached US$55.6 billion in the first half of 2023 – an 18.6 per cent increase from the same six-month period last year.

In March, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to an “all-round high quality future-oriented partnership”. The two countries also completed substantive negotiations on an upgraded free trade agreement.

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“This upgrade (of bilateral relations) will further increase the level of commitment to open up trade in services and investment, and support enterprises in both countries to seek new growth opportunities,” said Low.

She highlighted the success of the three government-to-government projects that have shaped the Singapore-China partnership over the past 30 years.

The Suzhou Industrial Park was established in 1994 in line with China’s industrialisation needs. The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city was built in 2008 when there was a growing emphasis on sustainable development. And the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative, which started in 2015, taps opportunities in the fast-evolving digital economy.

“Every project fits into China’s needs for development with an aim for mutual cooperation,” said Low. “The underlying mindset is not only to connect commodities and services between China and South-east Asia, but to provide a vision of going forward.”

Low also told her audience that Singapore and China are continually advancing the partnership through agreements in areas such as the digital economy, sustainability and innovation.

Asked about how Singapore could help in promoting regional trade, Low said that there should be greater cooperation among entrepreneurs from both sides. This could encourage the two countries to collaborate in entering more third-country markets within the region, she said.

All these are possible because of the mutual trust and confidence between Chinese and Singaporean businesses, as they can treat one another as “partners to go into the battlefield with”.

During the forum, a total of 13 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth more than S$87 million were signed between Singapore and Chinese companies. These spanned cross-border data flow, trade interconnectivity, education, food technology, healthcare, sustainable urban development, and supply chain logistics.

“The MOUs highlights the dedication by businesses from both countries in the promotion of trade liberalisation, innovation and sustainable growth,” said Singapore Business Federation chief executive officer Kok Ping Soon.

This year’s forum was held in conjunction with the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which has more than 500 representatives from 56 Singapore companies participating.

The CIIE, which runs until Nov 10, will likely see over 30 agreements being signed, totalling more than 500 million yuan (S$94.7 million). There were 15 MOUs signed at last year’s expo.