SINGAPORE – The Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (SingCham) has played an active and important role in deepening social and economic relations between the two countries, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan said on Sunday (Feb 14).

He highlighted how, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the chamber stepped forward to organise donations in support of relief efforts. The Straits Times reported last year that SingCham had raised $100,000.

Mr Tan was speaking in Mandarin at a Chinese New Year celebration jointly organised by SingCham, the Singapore embassy in Beijing and the Singapore Global Network.

SingCham was set up in 2002 to represent Singapore business interests to the Chinese government and help businessmen network with their Chinese counterparts. Today, it has more than 1,000 members and chapters in nine provinces and cities, including Chongqing, Guangdong and Shanghai.

Its Sunday event – held virtually on the Zoom platform for the first time – was attended by over 200, including Singapore’s ambassador to China Lui Tuck Yew, SingCham chairman Ong Tze Guan, Singaporeans currently and formerly based in China, and Chinese community partners.

Mr Tan said Singapore and China had maintained close contact from the onset of Covid-19, and promoted economic and trade cooperation while aiding each other in managing the pandemic.

“Whether it’s the donation of medical supplies initiated by the private sector, or the efforts of the two governments to maintain the stability of supply chains and personnel exchanges, these have highlighted the friendship and spirit of mutual assistance between the two countries,” he added.

Mr Tan also noted the start of follow-up discussions on the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Work Programme on Subsequent Negotiations, first announced by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing last December. The programme aims to elevate the FTA to leading global standards and to keep pace with the business community’s needs.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement – signed in November by Asean member states, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand – also demonstrates the South-east Asian region’s commitment to deepening economic integration, said Mr Tan.

He pointed out that since 2013, China has been Singapore’s largest trading partner and Singapore, China’s largest foreign investor. In 2019, Singapore became China’s largest foreign direct investment destination country, and the number of Chinese companies operating in Singapore is also increasing, said Mr Tan.

“In the new year, I hope SingCham and many companies will continue to work together and support each other to take social and economic relations between Singapore and China to a higher level,” he said.

“Although the world may not fully emerge from the shadow of the pandemic in 2021, I believe we will be able to overcome these tough times together and move towards a new path of development.”

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