China and Singapore conclude negotiations on the China-Singapore FTA

CHINA AND SINGAPORE CONCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE CHINA-SINGAPORE FTA

China’s Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng today announced the successful conclusion of negotiations for the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA). The announcement was made at the 5th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting co-chaired by Vice Premier Wang and DPM Wong in Tianjin, China.

The CSFTA is the first comprehensive bilateral Free Trade Agreement concluded by China with an Asian country.

Building on the ASEAN-China FTA (ACFTA), the CSFTA is a comprehensive and broad-based agreement covering areas including trade in goods, rules of origin, trade remedies, trade in services, movement of natural persons, investment, customs procedures, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and economic cooperation. Both sides also concluded negotiations for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Labour Cooperation.

Singapore and China enjoy excellent bilateral ties. Singapore’s trade with China rose to a record high of S$91.6 billion in 2007. China is currently Singapore’s 3rd largest trading partner, and Singapore is China’s 8th largest trading partner.

China is also Singapore’s top investment destination, and Singapore is China’s 7th largest investor. Singapore’s cumulative actual investments amounted to more than US$33 billion as of end-2007.

The FTA will enhance our strong economic relations by further reducing and removing barriers to trade. This will create opportunities for businesses from both countries to grow their links in each other’s markets.

The conclusion of the CSFTA also marks another milestone in the longstanding relations between Singapore and China. The close ties between both Governments are exemplified by the Suzhou Industrial Park project and the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project.

Singapore and China announced the launch of negotiations for a bilateral FTA at the 3rd Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting in August 2006, which was jointly chaired by DPM Wong Kan Seng and then Vice-Premier Wu Yi. Formal FTA negotiations commenced in October 2006 and there have been eight rounds of negotiations.

Singapore and China hope to sign the CSFTA in October 2008, during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Beijing, in conjunction with the 7th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit. 

MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
4 SEPTEMBER 2008