On August 11, the Consulate General of the Republic of Singapore in Guangzhou held its 58th National Day reception in Guangzhou.
Loh Tuck Keat, Consul General of the Republic of Singapore in Guangzhou, addressed at the event that Singapore and Guangdong have a long-standing relationship and have carried out substantive cooperation in various fields. Guangdong is Singapore's largest trading partner at the provincial level in China.
Loh is happy to see that China's economy has recovered steadily since the beginning of 2023. In the first half of the year, China's GDP grew by 5.5 percent, and exports and investment achieved positive growth. “Guangdong also achieved a 5 percent GDP growth as continuing to transform its economy to high quality development and set the pace of China's modernization and reforms and open up,” he said.
Statistics show that in 2022, the trade volume between Guangdong and Singapore reached 154.8 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 21.3 percent. From January to June 2023, the total import and export between Guangdong and Singapore amounted to 87.294 billion RMB, a significant increase of 45.64 percent. Mutual investment has reached new heights. Both sides are carrying out extensive cooperation in the digital economy, intellectual property rights, financial innovation, clean energy, biomedicine and talent exchanges.
He commented, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area remains a hot spot for business and investors, which are positive signals not only for China, but also for the global economy.
He also revealed that after tireless efforts and perseverance, Singapore has successfully and gradually resumed flights with major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and visa applications have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Sun Zhiyang, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, said in his speech, “We stand ready to and continue to enhance pragmatic collaboration in the fields of trade and investment, smart city, digital economy, biomedicine, inclusive finance, science and technology, education and tourism, etc. We also welcome more Singaporean business presence in Guangdong, and share the dividends of Guangdong's development.”
Earlier in June this year, the two sides held the 13th meeting of Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council (SGCC) and China (Guangdong)-Singapore Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference, signed 21 agreements and memorandums, and reached agreement on 32 projects with a total investment of 26 billion RMB. The development of three major platforms, namely China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, Shenzhen-Singapore Smart City Initiative, and the Guangdong-Temasek Joint Council, are all well underway.
Author | Hannah
Editor | Olivia, Jasmine, Jerry
