China-Singapore ties remain strong

Relations between China and Singapore continue to maintain solid momentum. The two countries have conducted fruitful cooperation in politics, economic matters, national defense, culture, health care, sports, and science.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in October 1990, China and Singapore frequently exchange high-level visits, and have established a cooperation committee at the Vice Premier level in recent years.

Partnership focuses on key sectors, including the "going-out" strategy of Chinese high-tech enterprises, Singapore's participation in the development of the Western Region, reinvigoration of old Northeastern industry bases, and personnel exchanges and training.

The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park is a landmark in the development of bilateral relations.

After several rounds of discussions and site surveys, both governments decided to join hands in developing a modern industrial park to the East of Suzhou.

The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park was inaugurated in February 1994.

The Jiangsu Province complex maintains a sustained annual average growth rate of 45 percent. It has also attracted more than 18-hundred internationally-invested enterprises with a cumulative foreign contractual investment of about 35 billion US dollars.

Singapore is China's 10th largest trading partner, while China is Singapore's 3rd biggest trading partner. Total trade volume between the two sides has reached more than 52 billion US dollars, an increase of 10.5 percent, through late 2008.

In October of last year, both countries signed a groundbreaking Free Trade Agreement. The deal went into effect on January 1st, 2009.