Singapore and China chart next lap for 30-year-old Suzhou Industrial Park

SM Lee Hsien Loong at the Suzhou Industrial Park 30th Anniversary Commemorative Event on 25 November 2024

It would be myopic to “write off China”, says SM Lee.

By Joyce ZK Lim, China Correspondent, The Straits Times, 26 Nov 2024

Singapore and China inked a 10-year blueprint for their flagship Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) project, as Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong underscored the city-state’s continued confidence in China’s future despite the challenges it faces.

Over the next decade, both countries will grow emerging sectors such as green development, the digital economy and biomedical sciences, with upcoming projects that will help the 30-year-old SIP stay relevant and attract investments from China and beyond, he said in Suzhou on Nov 25.

Speaking at a forum attended by more than 200 government and business leaders, including Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, SM Lee said that even as China faced both domestic and external challenges resulting in slower growth, it would be “short-sighted and unwise” to dismiss the world’s second-largest economy.

China has shown that it can take a strategic perspective, maintaining consistent policies over the long term to ride through transient ups and downs, and Singapore is committed to deepening cooperation with it, including through the SIP, he added.

SM Lee was in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu – on the first leg of a six-day official visit to China – to take part in a day-long series of activities to commemorate the 30-year milestone of the first intergovernmental project between both countries. It is his first time in China since stepping down as prime minister in May 2024 and being appointed as senior minister.

Launched in 1994 when China was reforming and industrialising its economy, the SIP – a brainchild of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Deng Xiaoping – was intended as a platform for China to adapt Singapore’s development experiences to its own context, and for Singapore to develop an external wing to its economy.

The SIP has since transformed from low-lying farmland into a modern integrated township housing high-tech industries. The development, spanning 278 sq km and home to 1.17 million people, has been China’s top-ranked economic and technological development zone for the last eight years.

It grew at 5.9 per cent in 2023, outperforming the national average of 5.2 per cent. Other parks modelled after it have also sprung up across the country.

At a bilateral meeting and lunch between SM Lee and Mr He on the same day, the leaders celebrated the SIP’s successes to date, and expressed confidence that the project would continue to serve as a “pathfinder and model for future bilateral cooperation”, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

The leaders articulated how the SIP had benefited each country in different ways.

Mr He, who is responsible for China’s economic and financial affairs, said to SM Lee that through the SIP, China had gained know-how on cooperating with foreign governments to stimulate business activity, and on promoting the development of industrial parks.

He also told the forum that the SIP was an “important window for China’s opening up”, raking in over 5,000 foreign-invested projects and more than US$40 billion (S$53.8 billion) in foreign investments utilised over 30 years.

SM Lee, who had been involved in the early years of the project, highlighted that Singapore had learnt from China the challenges of operating at scale, and the complexity of developing a project in a transitioning economy.

Singapore’s stake in the SIP – and role in working closely with China to see it to fruition – earned the Republic international credibility, he said. “It also helped build up our reputation all over China, opening many doors for us.”

In addition, the project served as a catalyst for the broader Singapore-China partnership, giving both countries the confidence to launch more intergovernmental projects in Tianjin and Chongqing, he added.

Today, almost a half-century after China embarked on its reform and opening up that ushered in a period of rapid progress, China faces a very different set of challenges, said SM Lee.

In addition to domestic factors that will slow down growth, China also faces a more complicated external environment with geopolitical tensions making conditions everywhere less conducive to growth, he noted.

At home, China has had to contend with a maturing economy, a shrinking workforce, and structural problems such as a property overhang, indebted local governments and weak domestic consumption.

And abroad, heightened United States-China competition, which could sharpen with a second Donald Trump presidency, has clouded the outlook for China’s foreign trade and investments, a key driver of its economy.

“Facing these external pressures and uncertainties, China has placed more emphasis on political, social and national security considerations,” said SM Lee.

“Economic development is still of high importance, but it is no longer the pre-eminent national priority. Policy trade-offs are unavoidable, and will imply less exuberant growth for China,” he added.

Even so, he stressed that it would be myopic to “write off China”, whose population’s determination to succeed should not be underestimated.

The world’s second-largest economy retains considerable capacity to grow, with untapped potential in its workforce as people stay healthy for longer, and as an urbanising population leads to productivity gains, he said.

It also has a highly competitive tech industry with market leaders in sectors from electric vehicles to solar panels.

“In fact, in some industries, Chinese companies have been so successful that it is causing concern to China’s trading partners,” he noted.

Said SM Lee: “Singapore continues to have confidence in China’s future. We believe that a growing and prospering China can and should play a major constructive role internationally – contributing to the prosperity and well-being of other countries, and a stable international order where all countries big and small coexist peacefully together.

“We therefore wish China well in its efforts to transform its economy, integrate into the global economy, and enhance win-win relations with regional partners and other major powers.”

For its part, the SIP would demonstrate China’s continued openness to the world, and its desire to welcome investors, he noted. “In an era of uncertainty and anxiety, it will be a beacon of cooperation and hope.”

In his speech at the forum, Vice-Premier He described the anniversary as marking a “new starting point” as both sides work to attract more investments and develop innovative industries.

Both leaders witnessed the signing of the 10-year blueprint and a separate agreement facilitating digital trade cooperation at the SIP. They also planted a persimmon tree by the park’s iconic Jinji Lake – mirroring a tree-planting that had been carried out at the Singapore Botanic Gardens two weeks prior by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang.

During his visit, SM Lee toured the exhibition centres of two major projects in the biomedical and green development sectors, which Singapore companies are jointly developing at the park.

The first is the China-Singapore Life Sciences Park, or Biosparc, which Singapore’s investment company Temasek is working on with the SIP.

It aims to build on the SIP’s strengths in the biomedical sector, providing research and development centres and manufacturing facilities to advance cutting-edge innovations from drug development and medical devices to artificial intelligence-driven medical technologies.

The park is currently under construction and expected to launch in 2026. It will occupy a total land area of about 21 football fields (116,000 sq m), with an estimated total investment value of about 800 million yuan (S$148 million).

The second is the China-Singapore Green Digital Hub, which Keppel and Surbana Jurong are developing with Sungent Holding Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise based at the SIP.

The project is positioned as a trailblazer for future net-zero industrial districts in Singapore and China, and a pilot zone for decarbonisation solutions.

It aims to attract industries in the green and digital spheres, in facilities with ambitious sustainability goals that cover the life cycle of the entire industrial district. The project will span 170,000 sq m, and is expected to be completed in 2027.

These new joint projects in the SIP will continue to “strengthen its global relevance and role as a platform for Singapore and China to showcase international standards and contribute to global development”, said Minister-in-charge of the SIP Chan Chun Sing in a statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

After wrapping up his programme in Suzhou, SM Lee left for Beijing, where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a dinner hosted by the Chinese leader.

Stakes high in GE2025; no guarantee PAP will win and form a stable government, says PM Lawrence Wong

People’s Action Party Awards and Conference 2024

By Kenneth Cheng, Assistant News Editor, The Straits Times, 25 Nov 2024

The upcoming general election in 2025 will be a high-stakes one, and Singapore risks ending up with a much weaker government if there is just a modest swing in popular votes against the ruling party, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Speaking at the People’s Action Party conference at the Singapore Expo on Nov 24, he told party members: “Please don’t think it is guaranteed that the PAP will win and form a stable government.”

In a speech lasting about 40 minutes, the Prime Minister also highlighted the need for Singaporeans to stay united in the midst of trying circumstances beyond the country’s borders, and spoke of the urgency for the PAP to have a fresh crop of younger candidates who can take the nation forward.

He noted that in the 2020 General Election, the opposition had warned Singaporeans against an “opposition wipe-out”.

“Actually, there is no chance of that happening at all,” he said, adding that the opposition in Singapore is here to stay.

There have been opposition MPs in Parliament since 1981, and the Non-Constituency MP scheme guarantees at least 12 opposition MPs in the House, noted PM Wong, who is set to take over as PAP secretary-general. He is now the party’s deputy secretary-general.

“In fact, given the desire for more opposition voices, the bigger risk we face is the loss of a stable and strong and good government,” he said.

The opposition admits it is far from ready to form the Government, he told an audience of about 3,000 PAP cadres, activists and guests.

“They say that partly because they know that Singaporeans will not support them if they openly declare their intention to govern,” he added.

But if more and more voters are persuaded by the opposition’s argument to vote them in so they can oppose the government of the day, “you can be sure that what is now the opposition will soon be the Government”, said PM Wong.

He cautioned that such a scenario would not require a large swing in votes at the next general election, which must be held by November 2025.

A modest swing in popular votes against the PAP, he noted, can lead to very different electoral outcomes, and very possibly the loss of another three or four group representation constituencies or GRCs.

This means the party will lose four or five ministers – or a quarter of the Cabinet.

“We will end up with a much weaker government, with far less ability to solve the problems facing our people and our country at a time when the world is becoming more uncertain and troubled,” he said.

“So, comrades, the stakes in the next election are high.”

PM Wong urged the party to work hard for every vote, to earn the confidence and trust of Singaporeans, win the mandate to govern, and ultimately, serve fellow Singaporeans.

“We know from the last election, and more so in the next election, there are no longer any safe seats,” he said.

“So every resident, every vote counts, and all our efforts matter.”

He noted that the PAP faces a rather unique political challenge, having governed Singapore for 65 years.

It is the party’s desire to keep serving Singaporeans for as long as possible, but he warned that members must never assume they will not see a change in government in their lifetime.

Hawker culture debate: The missing ingredient is our willingness to pay

Nostalgia over hawker culture may have trapped us into an outdated view that hawker fare must always be very cheap.

By Chua Mui Hoong, Senior Columnist, The Straits Times, 23 Nov 2024

Perhaps it is no coincidence that while we wring our hands about how to make hawker culture sustainable in Singapore, hawker fare is thriving in Perth.

This crossed my mind while I was having kopi-o gau and kaya toast one morning in Perth, where I now live, and the thought developed over the next day, when I had nasi lemak and kopi peng.

For those who don’t know, Perth is home to a multitude of Singaporean and Malaysian restaurants and cafes whose selling point is hawker food.

My nasi lemak here cost A$14.50 (S$12.70) and came with a small mix of fried peanuts and anchovies, one hard-boiled egg and a whole deep-fried chicken thigh. Kopi peng was A$5. My kaya toast and kopi-o set was A$12.50.

I have gone beyond feeling shock at the higher prices for hawker food in Perth. This is Australia, after all, where the minimum wage is A$24.10 an hour. Restaurants close in the afternoon before reopening for dinner, as it isn’t worth paying wages to remain open for the odd customer who comes in mid-afternoon. Eating out is expensive, so most people cook and eat at home.

In Singapore, cooked food prices remain very affordable, especially in hawker centres and coffee shops. A similar kaya toast set with a beverage, plus two soft-boiled eggs, would cost me around $3 in a hawker centre or coffee shop in Singapore. NTUC Foodfare even sells this signature breakfast set for $2.20, with union members getting a special price of $1.80 for a beverage, one slice of kaya toast and two soft-boiled eggs.

How little is too little for a kaya toast set?

Local food chain Toast Box charged $7.40 for its kaya toast set, drawing flak online. A reader posted a photo that showed the same set had cost $5.70 in 2020. A subsequent online poll found that 88 per cent of 7,425 respondents thought a kaya toast set should not cost above $5.

It got me wondering why hawker culture is facing an existential threat in Singapore, but Malaysian and Singaporean eateries, offering similar fare, do a roaring trade in Perth. Could the prices of hawker fare hold the key?

The issue cropped up in Parliament last week, when the Progress Singapore Party’s leaders moved a motion calling for a review of hawker policies. The motion was reworded by People’s Action Party MPs to call for a regular review of hawker policies that can “sustain and grow Singapore’s hawker culture so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy good and affordable hawker food while enabling hawkers to earn a fair livelihood” (italics mine). The amended motion was passed by all MPs, showing cross-party support for hawker culture.

Hawker culture unifies Singaporeans. Hawker centres bring together diners of different races, ages, and social strata to enjoy food derived from our multiracial heritage. A millionaire towkay may sweat through his bowl of mee rebus, seated at the same table as the single mum sharing wonton mee with her child.

Hawker culture also comes with a certain heritage. The early hawker centres built in the 1970s housed former street hawkers and rented out food stalls at low rates to a generation of less-educated, low-income Singaporeans who sold cooked food or drinks to make a living. A hawker stall provided a humble, yet secure, means of livelihood. My parents, who emigrated from China to Singapore in the 1950s, belonged to that group. Their stall in an ulu (remote) part of Singapore in Pasir Panjang, near an oil refinery, enabled them to sell char kway teow and other dishes, and to put three children to school.

Many Singaporeans, like me, are deeply proud of the working-class roots of hawker culture. We want hawker centres to continue being mass dining halls for all. We don’t want them gentrified or made hipster.

Most Singaporeans will have their favourite hawker stall or coffee shop where they enjoy their morning teh or kopi, where they go for their fix of mee siam, chicken rice or nonya kueh. As an emigrant who now lives overseas, I plan my visits back to Singapore around the hawker food I miss – my favourite bak chor mee in the Veerasamy area, the prawn noodle and chicken rice at Shunfu Mart near my old home, and a recent discovery – the Teochew soon kueh at the social enterprise Yoon’s Social Kitchen in Aljunied. When I meet a new Singaporean kaki in Perth, it is nearly always to catch up over hawker fare in a Singaporean or Malaysian eatery.

Singapore hawker culture has become a strong unifier for its people. We should do our best to promote it, and sustain it.

PM Lawrence Wong's Press Conference with Singapore Media on 8 Nov 2024

Singapore must work harder to find like-minded partners in less hospitable world: PM Wong

By Danson Cheong, Assistant News Editor, The Straits Times, 8 Nov 2024

Foreign policy issues might not be “top of mind” for many Singaporeans but how the Government advances Singapore’s interests abroad is critical to the country’s ability to survive and thrive.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said this on Nov 8, pointing out that as the global environment grows more fraught, Singapore needs to work even harder to strengthen its network of friends and partners. It will also need to work with like-minded countries to shape international norms and rules, and find common ground on issues of shared concern.

Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, PM Wong laid out an overview of the geopolitical challenges that Singapore is facing, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza, tensions between the US and China, and the weakening of established norms and multilateral institutions.

“That is why we see growing zones of impunity, where state and non-state actors are able to push for what they want with little or no consequences,” he said.

How the Government navigates this is critical to making life better for Singaporeans, PM Wong told reporters at the National Press Centre in Hill Street.

“Foreign policy is critical to our ability to survive and to thrive. It is about how we can stay relevant and expand our networks and ensure that our little red dot can keep shining, even in a more dangerous and turbulent world,” he said.

“In the end, everything we do, whether it is domestic or foreign, comes back to how we can make life better for Singaporeans, and that remains the focus for me and my team,” he added.

His comments come just days after US President-elect Donald Trump made a stunning political comeback, defeating Vice-President Kamala Harris to win a second term as the US’ top leader.

But Trump’s impending return to power has triggered anxiety among the US’ partners and allies over the potential security, trade and geopolitical implications of a second Trump term.

During his campaign, Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine, and he has accused President Joe Biden of giving Israel insufficient support.

He also vowed to slap tariffs of 60 per cent or more on Chinese imports and at least 10 per cent on goods from all other countries.

Asked about the implications of these potential barriers to trade, PM Wong said this is a concern, pointing also to the European Union’s recent decision to increase tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles.

“Trade is three times our GDP (gross domestic product). We are an open economy, we are a trading economy, we would be concerned in a world where there are more and more frictions to trade overall,” said PM Wong.

He pointed out that while there may be situations where countries would apply tariffs, this should be done within a proper framework, with trade disputes raised with an institution like the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

But he added that it has been difficult to get countries to support efforts to revamp and strengthen the WTO, even under the current Biden administration.

He also said this is why Singapore is also trying to “do more around Asean and other regional forums” to keep trade barriers low.

Since he became prime minister in May, PM Wong has been on a slew of overseas trips.

He has attended the Asean summits in Laos and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, and has visited South-east Asian countries including Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. He added that he hopes to visit Thailand later in 2024.

He is also expected to visit Peru and Brazil later in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Group of 20 summits, respectively, and said he could visit the remaining Asean countries and India in 2025.

When asked about the implications of the recent US presidential election, PM Wong said on Nov 8 that he believes the Government would be able to continue to work well with the new Trump administration, pointing out that both countries extended a memorandum of understanding on defence during the last Trump term.

“We continue to grow our trade and investment links between Singapore and the US in a very productive manner. So I think, bilaterally, we look forward to working closely with the new team,” he said.

PM Wong also reiterated concerns about the trajectory of the US-China relationship, pointing out that while America remains a pre-eminent power in many areas, China is rising.

“America has to decide what to do with this, to treat this as an existential threat, and therefore to contain China, or to embrace China and accept China as a major power in its own right,” he said.

On the other hand, China needs to consider the responsibilities it needs to undertake to uphold the international order now that it is the second-largest economy, he added.

The decisions these two major powers make will shape the future global order, he said, adding that, where possible, Singapore will do its part to facilitate a relationship where both sides can engage and find a way to coexist with each other.

He also said that while the American security umbrella continues to be relevant and provide stability for the region, more Americans are raising questions about why the US has to bear the cost of its international responsibilities.

“We understand that, and that’s why we do not take this for granted,” he said, adding that this is why Singapore supports not just America’s security presence in this region, but also greater American economic engagement.

The recent US presidential election also laid bare the political divisions within the country, and PM Wong was asked about whether he was concerned these tensions would spill over to Singapore.

PM Wong said in many countries, elections are leading to outcomes where society is more divided and polarised – and in a situation like this, there is no winner.

“In the end, everyone is worse off because it makes it harder to govern, and it makes it harder for countries to move forward,” he said.

Singapore has put in place guard rails for this, recently updating its laws on deepfakes and digitally manipulated content of election candidates, said PM Wong.

But he added that it is also vital for the Government, political parties and Singaporeans to work together to ensure that society is not divided and polarised.

“We try our best not to go down the path of political populism, opportunism, but find ways to keep our society strong, united and maintain that high level of trust, because that’s essential for Singapore to stay relevant and to survive in this new world,” he said.