Chongqing- By 2025, Chongqing and Singapore will realize liberalization and facilitation in trade, investment, and cross-border flow of capital, personnel, goods, and data, according to the Overall Development Plan of China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) (2021-2025) co-released by China and Singapore on October 12.

To improve connectivity in multiple areas

"The CCI is a government-to-government project between Singapore and China," said Tan Chee King, Consul-General of the Republic of Singapore in Chengdu. "Over the past five to six years, we have made good progress in all four key areas of cooperation, including the transport logistics sector, the aviation sector, the financial services sector, as well as the information and communications technology sector."

The Overall Plan indicates that, in terms of financial services, the coverage of the China-Singapore cross-border financing channel will further expand, with more relevant products to be released.

With regard to aviation, flights connecting countries and regions across the world are to continue increasing. This involves enhancement in people-to-people exchanges, cooperation in this field to celebrate new fruits, and contributions to be made to facilitate the construction of international aviation hubs.

Regarding transport and logistics, progress will be seen in the international cooperation of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor under the Singapore-China (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative (CCI-ILSTC), the collaboration between the Customs authorities of Chongqing and Singapore, and the "single window system" for international trade, and Chongqing-Singapore international trade facilitation.

The China-Singapore (Chongqing) International Dedicated Connectivity (IDC) is expected to welcome breakthroughs when it comes to information and communication technology.

The CCI information and communication cooperation demonstration site at the Xiantao International Big Data Valley has been completed. Chongqing and Singapore will co-develop the Smart China Expo into an international communication platform for the smart industry with an excellent reputation and influence worldwide.

By 2035, Chongqing and Singapore's "point-to-point" cooperation will realize the "face-to-face" connection between western China and Southeast Asia. This comprehensively upgrades regional connectivity, making Chongqing a hub for gathering import or export goods, an aviation hub in west China, and an "international internet portal."

"Through improving the connectivity between Singapore and Chongqing," said Tan. "We're able to enhance the connectivity between western China and Southeast Asia as two regions."

To build five platforms in the next five years

According to the Overall Plan, CCI will build five platforms in the next five years.

Through the regional cooperation strategic service platform, China and Singapore will draw more partners from western China and Southeast Asia to participate in CCI.

Developing a modern connectivity development platform, China and Singapore will promote the international cooperation under the CCI-ILSTC and application of China-Singapore (Chongqing) International Dedicated Connectivity, encourage tourism collaboration and cultural communication between western China and ASEAN countries, improve regional connectivity, as well as pool capital, information, personnel, and goods to Chongqing, transporting them to other parts in western China and countries (regions) along the Belt and Road.

Taking advantage of the modern service economy demonstration platform, China and Singapore are slated to accelerate the construction of signature projects and bring out more visible results; stimulate more cooperation projects to be commercialized and sustainable with replicable models; attract more international educational, medical, and tourism resources as well as the supporting resources for the elderly via high-quality platforms in Singapore.

Relying on the platform to promote innovation in policies and mechanisms, China and Singapore will try to provide more state-level support, implementing major innovative policies on high-level open platforms from the former and successful experience to better land in Chongqing.

Based on the platform for exploration and practice of reform and opening-up, China and Singapore will enable relevant parties to seize the opportunities introduced by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, allow enterprises in the two countries to seek cooperation in the third-party markets, and find new paths for intergovernmental cooperation, new models for commercial development, and new mechanisms for win-win results.