Suzhou joint industrial park hailed as Singapore steps up China cooperation

Chinese officials in the Lion City eyeing business opportunities heap praise on China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park as it hits 25 years old

Visit comes as Singapore looks to boost ties with China following rocky relations in recent years

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The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:00am, 5 Dec 2019Updated: 5:53pm, 18 Dec 2019

Top officials from Suzhou visiting Singapore this week have lauded a joint industrial project in the eastern Chinese city as a model for China’s economic cooperation with other countries.

Lan Shaomin, Suzhou’s freshly appointed Communist Party secretary, said the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park was an “important window” for China as it opened up to the world.

The park was the brainchild of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and illustrated the “complementary relationship” between the two nations, Lan said.

“Our relationship has come very far,” he added.

Lan was speaking at a symposium in Singapore on Tuesday at which prospective investors from Suzhou were eyeing business deals in the Southeast Asian city state. The official, who was on a five-day introductory trip after taking the reins as Suzhou party chief in September, had earlier met with Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

The Suzhou Industrial Park is one of the engines of Jiangsu province’s economy. Photo: Handout

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