On August 25, Josephine Teo, Minister for Human Resource of Singapore, arrived in Chongqing for 2019 Smart China Expo. She gave a written interview with Chongqing Daily.

The opening ceremony of Smart China Expo 2019

Chongqing Daily: Last year, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong led a group of over 60 business representatives and over 40 enterprises to attend the first SCE.  What will the country offer this year?

Josephine Teo: It is a great pleasure for Singapore to be as the Guest of Honor again. We expanded the size of the delegation this year, the number of attending enterprises increased to around 70.

Themed on “Future Services,” Singapore Exhibition Hall introduces companies from artificial intelligence (AI), data analysis, robots, urban planning solutions, transportation & logistics and other fields to 2019 SCE. Visitors can better understand innovative technologies and business solutions of Singapore brands and have a unique experience at the exhibition hall.

Chongqing Daily: China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) have seen a stream of outcomes in financial services, aviation industry, transportation & logistics, and information communication. What are the highlights of the program? 

Josephine Teo: CCI has been positively progressing until now. It reduces financing and logistics costs for and optimizes the business environment in Western China. The trade volume of cross-border financing was 34.9 billion yuan as of the end of 2018. China-Singapore cooperation in aviation has also been improved: 14 flights per week connected to Chongqing and the country closer. In transportation & logistics, Singapore and Chinese companies established joint ventures to develop New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC). Multimodal Transport Demonstration Base in Liangjiang New Area is expected to enter the construction stage in the near future. Meanwhile, communication companies in the two countries work together in data connectivity to promote Singapore-Chongqing data flow.

We will team up with the city to copy successes of CCI and ILSTC to other parts of Western China, and reinforce the large-scale development of the western region and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chongqing Daily: It is learned that Sichuan, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Yunnan, Ningxia, and Xinjiang provinces have officially joined in the construction of the ILSTC. How many key issues do you think are to be solved in the construction process? And how to deal with them?

Josephine Teo: I’m very glad that the western provinces of China are willing to participate in the project. ILSTC is an open, sharing, cooperative, and win-win platform that is changing the large structure of international logistics. The addition of participants will raise the freight volume and enhance the economies of scale, further to reduce the cost and benefit all participants and enterprises. On the whole, the cost reduction will optimize the business climate of western China and attract more investments for these provinces.

Although some satisfactory progress has been made in the ILSTC, there is room for improvement. Firstly, we have to continue to lift the usage rate and cargo capacity of the trade corridor to acquire a greater economic effect. Besides, we seek to promote a more effective exchange of cross-border e-commerce trade information, so as to cut the time and cost for customs clearance. At last, we expect to shorten the time for customs clearance by further standardization efforts.

Chongqing Daily： What expectations do you have for the 2019 SCE?

Josephine Teo: The SCE has attracted experts and professionals from business circles, the academic community, and government bodies. It is a significant platform for the exchange of knowledge and thoughts. I’m pleased to participate in the SCE this year, and I’m looking forward to talking with and learning from other attendees at the expo.

For the CCI, the geographical limitation is not a concern. The point is how to bridge the gap and establish the relationship networks between different areas. With the strong support of Chongqing and the active participation of other western provinces, we expect to further expand the relationship networks and strengthen the connectivity between all parties concerned. Efforts on the ILSTC will be made to intensify the modern connectivity in data, financing, talent, and technology and to bring out the best in marine, land, and aviation resources in the process.

We also hope to improve the interpersonal relationship between Singapore and western China, so as to promote the understanding of the ILSTC project in both countries. This will facilitate accomplishing the CCI missions.