Singapore has set a five-year deadline for transferring management of the showcase industrial park in Suzhou to its mainland partners, a sign of its growing frustration with the lack of progress at the project.
The joint venture on the outskirts of Shanghai was planned as a model for co-operation between Singapore and the mainland but relations have soured, with the Singaporeans increasingly complaining that the Suzhou municipal authorities are not committed to the project.
Singapore has accused the Suzhou authorities of directing investors to their own wholly owned, nearby industrial and economic zone where land and service charges are cheaper.
The decision to pull forward the transfer date is the clearest evidence so far that Singapore wishes to reduce its involvement in the ailing venture.
Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) was started by the Singaporeans in 1994 as a goodwill gesture to help the development of the mainland's hi-tech industry.
Singapore promised to bring in the best of its technology, facilities and efficient management to create an oasis and gateway for Singaporean and multi-national corporations wanting to get a foothold in the mainland.