Chongqing - The first session of the Sixth Chongqing Municipal People's Congress opened on January 13. Tan Chee King, Consul General of Singapore in Chengdu, shared his thoughts about Singapore-Chongqing cooperation after listening to the 2023 Chongqing Municipal People's Government Work Report.

"I think two things stand out in the work report this year. One is that it laid out some general concepts and guiding principles for Chongqing's development for the next five years." According to Tan Chee King, the report places a strong emphasis on science and innovation. It has good potential for cooperation between Chongqing and these international partners, including Singapore.

The volume of imports and exports between Chongqing and Singapore reached 3.987 billion yuan between January and May 2022, a rise of 40.9% over the same period last year. A 9.4% increase in imports and a 59.9% increase in exports were reported, totaling 1.168 billion yuan and 2.818 billion yuan, respectively.

By the end of May 2022, Singapore had established 358 foreign-funded businesses in Chongqing, totaling USD 7.71555 billion in contractual foreign investment.

The China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity is a platform for government cooperation between the governments of Singapore and China. "So I think we will continue to emphasize the development of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, under which I think we have various pillars of cooperation, including in the transport and logistics area as well as in the science and innovation area. So I think these are the areas in which I look forward to having stronger cooperation between Singapore and Chongqing," Tan Chee King added.

In light of these changes in the Chongqing government's coronavirus management policies, Tan Chee King expressed hope for stronger exchanges, especially in-person visits between the leaders of Chongqing and Singapore. "This will allow both sides to better understand the development of each other as well as to explore deeper avenues of cooperation."