Keynote Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Gan Kim Yong at FutureChina Global Forum 2026

Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Chairman of Business China,

Ms Kwek Poh Heok, Chief Executive Officer of Business China,

Board members and the Business China team,

My Cabinet and Parliamentary colleagues,

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good morning. I am pleased to join you at the FutureChina Global Forum.

2. This is a useful platform for business and government leaders to exchange views, better understand the developments shaping China and our region, and consider what we can achieve together.

Making openness more resilient

3. Connectivity and openness have been a powerful growth driver of development for Asia. Trade and investment have opened markets for businesses, brought in new capabilities, and enabled workers to have better jobs. Singapore and China have both benefited greatly.

4. Today, this model is under tremendous strain from two directions.

5. Geopolitical rivalry has made countries more concerned about dependencies and economic security.

6. At the same time, businesses and workers are asking whether they have a fair share in the gains from growth and technological change.

7. These concerns can fuel demands for protection and cause economies to look inwards and close up. But higher barriers can, instead, make it harder for firms to reach new markets, acquire capabilities, and seize new opportunities.

8. So we cannot simply counter openness by closing up. We have to make openness work better for businesses and for people.

9. This is the focus of the Forum’s theme, “Strengthening Resilience, Rebuilding Trust”.

10. Resilience requires us to build stronger capabilities at home, while expanding our connections abroad.

11. Trust between partners makes these connections more dependable, especially when circumstances become harder.

12. At the same time, we must give businesses and people a stake in the progress and prosperity brought about by openness, resilience and trust.

13. This is the thinking behind our Economic Strategy Review (ESR).

a. We want to deepen our strengths in what we do well, such as advanced manufacturing and modern services.

b. We also want to develop new engines of growth, harness AI to raise productivity, and strengthen our links to global markets.

c. Alongside these efforts, we must also help businesses transform, and workers acquire the new skills to take on new opportunities so that growth is sustainable.

14. We must therefore build the capacity to adapt to change – firms that can change their business models and enter new markets; workers who can move into new roles as jobs evolve; and an economy with extensive connections and options to respond to changing circumstances.

15. Stronger capabilities help our firms and workers benefit from global opportunities, while international connections give them access to the markets, technology, capital and ideas they will need to keep growing.

Renewing Singapore – China cooperation

16. The relationship between Singapore and China has never been static.

a. The Suzhou Industrial Park supported China’s early industrialisation and opening up, while creating opportunities for Singapore companies.

b. The Tianjin Eco-City took our cooperation into sustainable urban development.

c. The Chongqing Connectivity Initiative combined our strengths in modern services and connectivity to connect Western China more directly with Southeast Asia and global markets.

17. Each project responded to the challenges and opportunities of its time. In working through these projects, we came to understand each other better, as well as understand our strengths better, and built the confidence and trust to take on new challenges together.

18. Our bilateral agreements and institutions also give businesses greater certainty.

a. The latest upgrade of the China–Singapore Free Trade Agreement improved market access and transparency for investors and service suppliers.

b. At the 21st Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, or JCBC, last December, we announced new agreements across areas such as finance, the digital economy and green development. I look forward to the 22nd JCBC which will be held later this year in Singapore.

19. China is pursuing innovation and industrial upgrading, while Singapore is sharpening our own economic strategy and developing new sources of growth. We can combine our complementary strengths and seize emerging opportunities together.

20. AI is one area where we can put this into practice.

a. Through our Digital Policy Dialogue, Singapore and China can exchange perspectives on AI governance and data, and build confidence in the responsible use of this technology.

b. In tandem, our companies and research institutions can work together on practical AI applications that meet the needs of our businesses.

c. This can help smaller firms access capabilities that were once costly or specialised, and enable workers to use AI alongside their domain knowledge and experience to take on new and more complex tasks.

d. Job redesign and training should be part of this effort, so that enterprise transformation goes hand in hand with workforce development. This is also the approach we are taking in our ESR.

21. The green economy offers a similar opportunity.

a. China has deep technological and manufacturing capabilities, while Singapore brings strengths in areas such as finance, connectivity and project implementation.

b. Our green and digital shipping cooperation is one good example. The Tianjin corridor combines trials of alternative fuels and digital solutions with workforce development, helping businesses and workers prepare for changes in the maritime sector.

22. This is the kind of cooperation we should pursue – cooperation that builds capabilities, and supports participation in new areas of growth.

Broadening the gains across ASEAN

23. I just returned from the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meeting in Manila. A stronger and more resilient ASEAN should be a shared priority for Singapore and China. A more prosperous region gives our businesses growing markets, more resilient supply chains, and stronger partners.

24. But the region also faces a harder path to industrial upgrading.

a. Competition is intensifying, automation is reducing the advantage of lower labour costs, and digital platforms bring not just new markets but also new competition.

b. More trade and investment, by themselves, will not be enough. We must also help local enterprises move up the value chain to benefit from these opportunities, and workers acquire the skills needed to take on better jobs.

25. ASEAN has refreshed its commitment to stay open to each other through the upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). It has also deepened its commitment with our partners through the consensus to review and expand ASEAN.

26. The upgraded ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 gives us a framework to work with our ASEAN partners on this, including through cooperation in the digital and green economies and supply-chain connectivity. The task now is to translate these commitments into practical opportunities for enterprises and workers across the region.

27. Connectivity is a key part of this.

a. The International Land-Sea Trade Corridor under the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative links Western China with Southeast Asia and beyond.

b. Better transport links and supporting services can help ASEAN enterprises reach customers in China, while giving logistics firms new business.

c. These connections will also bring new opportunities and capabilities.

i. Investors can work with local suppliers to improve quality standards, production methods and products.

ii. Technology partners can help smaller firms adopt digital tools, while developing local capability to adapt and maintain them.

iii. Green projects can create opportunities to develop local enterprises and train workers.

28. The aim is not for every economy to do exactly the same things. It is for businesses across the region to find a competitive place in value chains, and for workers to see pathways to progress.

29. And that is how regional integration becomes more relevant and resilient. When local firms gain customers and capabilities, and workers gain better opportunities, they will have a reason to support continued trade and investment.

30. As Singapore assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027, we will work together with our fellow Member States to deepen integration and strengthen ASEAN’s capacity to respond to change. We want an ASEAN that remains open to the world, with the capabilities, connections and agencies to shape our own future.

Investing in the partnerships that sustain openness

31. These partnerships depend on people who understand one another’s markets, can trust each other, and work together.

32. Business China’s work to develop bilingual and bicultural talent and bring businesses together helps build the understanding and relationships that will anchor cooperation between Singapore and China and between ASEAN and China requires.

33. I encourage the companies here to invest not only in new markets and technologies, but also in the people who will translate those opportunities into reality.

Conclusion

34. Singapore and China have spent decades building trust through mutually beneficial cooperation. We should now draw on that trust to build capabilities – in Singapore and across ASEAN.

35. Let us work together to help businesses compete, workers progress, and people benefit from staying open and connected. That is how we can strengthen resilience and sustain trust, by giving businesses and people a stake in its success.

36. I wish everyone a productive Forum. Thank you.