AS China and Singapore celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, it also marked the beginning of a new phase in their relationship. Singapore consul general in Shanghai, Ong Siew Gay, said he had great confidence in the potential of the bilateral relations. Ong looks after Singapore interests in Shanghai and in the neighboring regions.

“The bilateral relation is very dynamic. Singapore is a small but very open country. We always seek opportunities to be relevant in the world and ways to survive,” says Ong, who came to Shanghai in 2012.

Ties between the people of China and Singapore dated back to almost 200 years, even before Singapore became independent.

“Our founding leader Lee Kuan Yew had a great vision. He saw China’s potential as an influential economic and political player long before anyone else in the world,” Ong says.

Singapore has always wanted to join every stage of development of China. In the early 1970s, China was at the early phase of reforms and opening up, industrializing and urbanizing.

“We saw the opportunity to share our experience because we went through the development earlier. After the discussion, we embarked on the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). It is not just a commercial project; it was actually government-to-government at the highest level,” says Ong.

Through such cooperation, the political leaders of China and Singapore not only get to know each other better, but it is also a key platform to share more investment, industrialization and organization.

The SIP is now a model of cross-country platform and has become internationally famous for its rapid development, impressive even amidst the Yangtze River Delta region, one of the country’s most mature and fastest growing areas.

Singapore is constantly looking at new areas of cooperation. Tianjin Eco-city focuses on sustainable development and eco-friendly townships. The new development, which started around 2007, is working to make the city socially harmonious, environmentally friendly and resource-efficient. It has plans to house 350,000 residents.

In July, Tony Tan Keng Yam, president of the Republic of Singapore, visited the Tianjin Eco-City, as part of his state visit to China. President Tony Tan said that the excellent cooperation in the eco-city is a reflection of Singapore’s close ties with Tianjin. He also officially opened the Low Carbon Living Lab (LCLL) which showcases sustainable building design and technologies, and provides a convenient platform for companies from both countries to test-bed green building features, energy-saving application technologies and renewable energy technologies.

“Also, the planned third project in the western region of China is a flagship cooperation project between the governments of China and Singapore,” says Ong.

Two years ago, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli requested Singapore to consider embarking on the cooperation project in the west. Singapore government has been studying this very closely and conducted many study tours to the western region of China. The project is related to China’s new focus on improving connectivity, strategic cooperation for “One Belt, One Road,” which emphasizes openness and inclusiveness and an opportunity to build a greater Eurasian market.

“We always try to see how we can match China’s evolving development of politics with projects at different part of time,” say Ong.

Bilateral achievements are impressive on many counts. Since the launch of the yuan clearing operations in Singapore in May 2013, there has been tremendous growth. Singapore is now the largest offshore center for renminbi foreign exchange outside China, with renminbi deposits crossing the 300 billion yuan mark in May this year. In April, Singapore recorded US$56 billion in renminbi foreign exchange turnover, making it one of the top two renminbi foreign exchange centers outside China. Singapore also has direct trading between two currencies, with yuan-Singapore dollar being the third-most traded currency pair on the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, after the US dollar and euro.

“Financial liberalization is a very important aspect of China’s globalization, and we are very happy to be helping China in its drive to internationalize the renminbi. We can create more innovative financial products and services to meet the demands of China’s further globalization,” Ong says.

Having been posted in different parts of the world, from US to Asia, Ong has been deeply impressed by the positive energy and optimism of Shanghai. His favorite way to explore the city is to visit Tian Zi Fang, try local snack like shaomai — a type of dumpling made with sticky rice and pork, and chaye dan, or tea leaf egg, a whole raw egg braised in sauce made from tea leaves, soy sauce and various spices such as cinnamon, star anise and cloves.

He does most of his exploration on Saturday morning. Ong also enjoys fresh air and wetlands at the Dongtan National Forest Park on Chongming Island. He thinks it is different from the one in tropical Singapore.

“Working and living here is very challenging and exciting. The city’s urban and metropolitan setting is very familiar to Singaporeans,” says Ong. “There are huge Singapore business opportunities in Shanghai. Recently Singapore has been focusing on investment and tourism.

“Singapore is a good hub with global links,” says Ong. “We hope Chinese investment can use Singapore as a platform to expand investment to Southeast Asia, India and Europe. Our connectivity is an advantage.

“Singaporeans are culturally very adaptable. We understand Chinese culture because we share similar language and cultural background, and also we understand the international market because our first language is English. We definitely have advantage of the regional political situation and economic situation,” he adds.

Ong is also positive about tourism in Singapore.

“In the past, Singapore was the last station for relaxing and shopping for package tours — Xin Ma Tai — Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand — not very exciting. We are changing that thinking now.”

There are quite a few tourist attractions in Singapore, including Resorts World Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands, and the River Safari where you can see the two giant pandas loaned by China. If you are an F1 fan, you will not want to miss the only night race of F1.

To celebrate Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and the 25 years of Sino-China diplomatic relations, Singapore Fiesta 2015 hosted more than 800 booths to showcase Singapore brands, products and services. It attracted 20,000 visitors on October 17 and 18 at Cool Docks. The fiesta, in its second year, featured authentic Singapore cuisine including laksa, fried flat noodles and teh tarik, charity bazaar sales, games and live performances by Unplugged by The Bay band and Mambo Jambo dance.

“We would even like to turn the Shiliupu Dock into Clarke Quay of Singapore,” says Chen Ruilian, deputy chairman of Shanghai Singapore Business Association.