Editor's Note: The interview was conducted against the backdrop of the ongoing national "Two Sessions" as part of iChongqing's efforts to invite foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) to talk about Chongqing's business environment and China's 14th Five-Year Plan. The interviewee, Mr. Gordon Tan, was undergoing a "14+7" quarantine period in a designated hotel by the time of the scheduled interview, but he still managed to take questions from our reporter via video link.

Chongqing - SSCCS General Manager Gordon Tan said during a recent exclusive interview with iChongqing, that Chongqing has already taken the lead in promoting connectivity with the outside world through the China Railway Express to Europe, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and is "second to none" in West China in terms of multimodal infrastructure and global aspiration to link with international key hubs like Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea.

As a joint venture company established under the umbrella of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, the Sino Singapore Chongqing Connectivity Solutions (SSCCS) is Singapore and China's 3rd government-to-government collaboration project, which aims to catalyze the development of an ecosystem that can use Chongqing as a redistribution hub into West China, according to Tan.

"Our role is twofold. The first is to promote connectivity between Singapore and Chongqing by enabling financiers and trading partners to embrace and increase their use of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), which connects West China and Southeast Asian countries," said Tan. "Secondly, we're also involved in the development of distribution and connectivity centers in Liangjiang New Area's Guoyuan and Yuzui industrial development zones, which aims to bring together global customers to make use of the excellent multimodal distribution capabilities and transportation infrastructure."

When asked about Chongqing's business environment for FIEs like SSCCS, Tan said that Chongqing is "second to none" in West China in terms of multimodal infrastructure along the China-Europe Freight Train routes and global aspiration to connect with international key hubs like Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea.

Like Singapore, according to Tan, Chongqing also understands and recognizes the strong "enabling" effect of connectivity on economic development, so governments from both sides have been striving to support industries as much as possible in delivering connectivity to the markets. However, the two economies have key differences in supporting industries, with Chongqing highly reliant on automotive and IT industries while Singapore has a more diversified scene, he added.

As for the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, Tan said Chengdu enjoys more participation from the private sectors whereas Chongqing sees stronger participation from state-owned enterprises (SOEs); therefore, "this economic integration of Chengdu and Chongqing means a larger market for foreign investors with greater economic and administrative certainty."

For Chongqing to rise as not just a "tourism city" but also a "logistics hub" in West China, Tan also called on the municipal government to engage in more global conversations with the outside world. "Actively engaging in global conversations with investors and manufacturers would position Chongqing favorably in terms of having more solutions that could meet the requirements of logistic flows to Europe and Southeast Asia," he said.

Now with the ILSTC already on the table for international traders, the question of "what's next" falls back on the shoulder of SSCCS: How to convince global traders, financiers, and logistics service providers to do business directly with Chongqing instead of going for the coastal cities? How to tap on the potential of RCEP to foster stronger collaboration between Singapore and West China? How to make good use of Chongqing's multimodal distribution advantages to the point that global customers can benefit from the Chongqing ecosystem and that domestic exporters can consolidate resources here before going global?