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Home » Supplement » Singapore
Maintaining a healthy relationship
By Yao Minji |
August 9, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Relations between China and Singapore are multi-faceted at business, government and people level. Yao Minji meets the consul general responsible for maintaining close ties between the two countries - in an area which extends beyond Shanghai and into neighboring provinces.
Singapore Day is an annual one-day carnival for overseas Singaporeans to stay connected with the country, and it is set in a different city around the world each year, often a big city with a sizeable Singaporean community.
In April, Singapore Day took place in China for the first time, with plenty of activities and traditional Singaporean cuisines on offer in Shanghai's Century Park. The city is home to almost 8,000 Singaporean people, not including the large number of visiting travelers. The number goes beyond 10,000 when it includes Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, all covered by the consulate general in Shanghai.
Tourism between China and Singapore is amazingly huge, with more than 1 million Chinese tourists visiting Singapore every year, and close to 1 million Singaporeans coming to China on an annual basis.
"The absolute number is high, and the percentage is even more. We have about 5 million residents in Singapore, among whom just over 3 million are Singaporeans. This means that every year, one in three Singaporeans make a trip to China," says Yip Wei Kiat, consul general for Singapore in Shanghai.
"This figure and percentage presents a very revealing picture of the interactions between the two countries, not only at government and business level, but at people level."
The 42-year-old diplomat calls China the place that he feels deepest about since he has spent six-and-a-half years here among his 18-year career. Yip was in Beijing for three years before taking his post in Shanghai, which he has been in for three-and-a-half years.
"China is a very interesting place, where you have a vast country with long history and rich culture. If you study further, it is also very interesting to see the great variety of different cultures in different parts of the country," Yip says.
"I have adjusted quite well to my position in Shanghai, as this international financial center with advanced economy is rather similar to Singapore."
As this year enters the 21st year since the establishment of the diplomatic tie between the two countries, Yip sees that "the cooperation and relations between Singapore and China have been growing steadily and healthily. We are currently on a very comfortable trajectory."
The total value of trade in 2010 was US$79 billion, a 25 percent increase from that of 2009. Close to US$9 billion was completed in Shanghai. China has maintained the second or third-largest trading partner for Singapore in the past three to four years.
And the most recent statistics show the trade value between the two countries from January to May of this year was US$34 billion, 7 percent up from the same period last year.
As of the end of 2010, more than 3,000 Singaporean investment projects are in Shanghai, accounting for more than 20 percent of total investment from Singapore to China.
Unlike in other parts of China, Singapore's investment in Shanghai focuses more on the services and retail section, which traditionally also includes logistics, consulting, financial services, environmental services, among many more.
And more than 30 percent are invested in the nearby Jiangsu Province.
"Together, the East China region that this office covers accounts for more than half of Singapore investment in China, revealing a very vivid picture of the bilateral relations," Yip says.
"And in the future, I would also like to see the investment expanding and extending to more areas, with more diversity."
Considering the diversity among the different regions in China, Yip suggests that Singapore companies who plan to start business here should conduct detailed market research and studies about the different markets in various parts of China in order to choose the best location.
"The different regions here offer various opportunities for different types of Singapore companies. For example, we tend to have more service-related business in Shanghai, while I will suggest to manufacturers to take advantage of lower overall business costs in other parts of China," Yip explains.
He has also seen an increasing presence of Chinese companies in Singapore in the past few years, which has been extending into many different sections including the infrastructure development projects.
"I hope that many Chinese companies can take full advantage of Singapore's Free Trade Agreement that we have established with most major economies around the world including the US, India, China, Japan and Australia. And we are also in positive negotiations with the European Union," Yip says.
He adds that taking advantage of the strong network of the FTA can help the Chinese companies in their development strategy for going global.
As host to many multinational companies, Singapore can also offer opportunities for Chinese companies based there to establish networks and cooperation with these companies.
Singapore Day is an annual one-day carnival for overseas Singaporeans to stay connected with the country, and it is set in a different city around the world each year, often a big city with a sizeable Singaporean community.
In April, Singapore Day took place in China for the first time, with plenty of activities and traditional Singaporean cuisines on offer in Shanghai's Century Park. The city is home to almost 8,000 Singaporean people, not including the large number of visiting travelers. The number goes beyond 10,000 when it includes Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, all covered by the consulate general in Shanghai.
Tourism between China and Singapore is amazingly huge, with more than 1 million Chinese tourists visiting Singapore every year, and close to 1 million Singaporeans coming to China on an annual basis.
"The absolute number is high, and the percentage is even more. We have about 5 million residents in Singapore, among whom just over 3 million are Singaporeans. This means that every year, one in three Singaporeans make a trip to China," says Yip Wei Kiat, consul general for Singapore in Shanghai.
"This figure and percentage presents a very revealing picture of the interactions between the two countries, not only at government and business level, but at people level."
The 42-year-old diplomat calls China the place that he feels deepest about since he has spent six-and-a-half years here among his 18-year career. Yip was in Beijing for three years before taking his post in Shanghai, which he has been in for three-and-a-half years.
"China is a very interesting place, where you have a vast country with long history and rich culture. If you study further, it is also very interesting to see the great variety of different cultures in different parts of the country," Yip says.
"I have adjusted quite well to my position in Shanghai, as this international financial center with advanced economy is rather similar to Singapore."
As this year enters the 21st year since the establishment of the diplomatic tie between the two countries, Yip sees that "the cooperation and relations between Singapore and China have been growing steadily and healthily. We are currently on a very comfortable trajectory."
The total value of trade in 2010 was US$79 billion, a 25 percent increase from that of 2009. Close to US$9 billion was completed in Shanghai. China has maintained the second or third-largest trading partner for Singapore in the past three to four years.
And the most recent statistics show the trade value between the two countries from January to May of this year was US$34 billion, 7 percent up from the same period last year.
As of the end of 2010, more than 3,000 Singaporean investment projects are in Shanghai, accounting for more than 20 percent of total investment from Singapore to China.
Unlike in other parts of China, Singapore's investment in Shanghai focuses more on the services and retail section, which traditionally also includes logistics, consulting, financial services, environmental services, among many more.
And more than 30 percent are invested in the nearby Jiangsu Province.
"Together, the East China region that this office covers accounts for more than half of Singapore investment in China, revealing a very vivid picture of the bilateral relations," Yip says.
"And in the future, I would also like to see the investment expanding and extending to more areas, with more diversity."
Considering the diversity among the different regions in China, Yip suggests that Singapore companies who plan to start business here should conduct detailed market research and studies about the different markets in various parts of China in order to choose the best location.
"The different regions here offer various opportunities for different types of Singapore companies. For example, we tend to have more service-related business in Shanghai, while I will suggest to manufacturers to take advantage of lower overall business costs in other parts of China," Yip explains.
He has also seen an increasing presence of Chinese companies in Singapore in the past few years, which has been extending into many different sections including the infrastructure development projects.
"I hope that many Chinese companies can take full advantage of Singapore's Free Trade Agreement that we have established with most major economies around the world including the US, India, China, Japan and Australia. And we are also in positive negotiations with the European Union," Yip says.
He adds that taking advantage of the strong network of the FTA can help the Chinese companies in their development strategy for going global.
As host to many multinational companies, Singapore can also offer opportunities for Chinese companies based there to establish networks and cooperation with these companies.
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