Several ways for S’pore to work with Beijing on One Belt, One Road

SINGAPORE — The One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative will help China integrate into the global economy and benefit other nations, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as he outlined how Singapore can work with the Asian giant on the mega project. 

Apart from infrastructure connectivity and financing, Singapore and China can work together on third-party collaboration, he said.

For example, a Chinese company seeking to invest in or break into a new market through OBOR could tap on Singapore’s financial services or trade facilities, among other things, and set up a regional headquarters in the Republic.

Such a business could also gather capital in Singapore, for instance, Mr Lee said in an interview conducted in Mandarin with news agency Xinhuanet on Saturday (Sept 16), ahead of his official visit to China which begins on Monday and ends on Thursday.

During the interview, which was published Monday, Mr Lee added that the two countries had discussed these areas and inked a memorandum of understanding in relation to them.

Asked what he thought of OBOR, Mr Lee said Singapore views it positively. He reiterated that as China’s economy continues to develop, its place in the global system and its influence on international relations will become more significant.

To that end, the OBOR initiative allows China to work closely with other countries spanning across Europe, Asia and even Africa on various areas including infrastructure, trade and tourism, he noted.

This way, China can be integrated into the regional or international economic system, and at the same time, enhance other countries’ prosperity. 

This will be good for China as well as the entire international system, Mr Lee said.

During the interview, Mr Lee was also asked about how Singapore would promote cooperation between China and the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean).  Singapore will assume chairmanship of Asean next year, which also marks the 15th anniversary of China’s strategic partnership with the association.

In response, Mr Lee reiterated that Asean and China have deep economic and trade links, with China being the largest trade partner of the vast majority of the bloc’s members.

He noted that if overall relationships are good between China and individual Asean members, as well as between China and the regional grouping as a whole, economic cooperation will naturally follow.

But if problems in the relationships arise, then the mutually beneficial cooperation between countries could be affected, Mr Lee said.

As Asean chair, “Singapore will do its utmost to enhance ties between China and Asean, and promote cooperation among Asean members”, Mr Lee said.

Mr Lee also spoke about the progress of the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail project.

An international tender — to be held in Singapore and Malaysia — is on the cards to be held in the coming months, he said.

He added that he hopes to receive a proposal from a Chinese company, which will be accorded objective and serious consideration.