Singapore and China strengthen bilateral ties in the areas of innovation and technology

05 JUL 2019

  1. Minister for Communications and Information, Mr S Iswaran, visited Beijing and Shenzhen, China, from 2 to 6 July 2019, on his first official visit to the country in his current portfolio. The visit reaffirmed Singapore’s warm and longstanding bilateral relations between Singapore and China, particularly in the areas of innovation and technology.

  2. Minister was hosted by his counterpart, Minister Miao Wei, from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). During his visit he also met with Minister Zhuang Rongwen from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), and Shenzhen Party Secretary, Wang Weizhong.

  3. In Minister’s meetings with Minister Miao and Minister Zhuang, they discussed the importance of an enabling environment to fuel the growth of the digital economy. Minister also shared about Singapore’s ongoing 5G public consultation and plan to roll out 5G networks by 2020. Minister emphasised the need for a common set of standards for cybersecurity and 5G, and that Singapore was engaged in international efforts to set such standards. They also discussed efforts in safeguarding cyberspace.

  4. Minister also visited Shenzhen, where he met with Party Secretary Wang and furthered discussions on the Smart City Twinning between Singapore and Shenzhen. The initiative was earlier endorsed by President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and PM Lee Hsien Loong. Minister spoke on the importance of such an initiative in an era in which our economies are increasingly digitalised to enhance business-to-business (B2B) and people-to-people (P2P) linkages between China and Singapore in the innovation and technology sectors. They also discussed other ways to take this initiative forward in the lead up to the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), scheduled to be held later this year.

  5. Minister visited a number of Chinese companies on the trip as well to obtain a first-hand update on the developments in the Chinese technology scene.

  6. Minister Iswaran was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

Minister Iswaran meets with Shenzhen Party Secretary, Wang Weizhong.