The Belt and Road Initiative should continue to be an open platform for trade and investments, said Minister Chan Chun Sing during a trade connectivity forum in Beijing.
Mr Chan said that China’s infrastructure should be enhanced by leveraging comparative advantages and seeing synergy partners. Citing the example of the Singapore-China joint project, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative which provides a direct and shorter trade route from Western China to Southeast Asia, Mr Chan said that the project evolved from promoting point-to-point connectivity to region-to-region connectivity. This has also effectively cut shipping time between regions by two-thirds.
At the same time, Mr Chan also urged countries to uphold the global training system. He said, “An inclusive, open and rules-based trade architecture has been the bedrock of our economic development and success in the past few decades, lifting millions out of poverty and growing a substantial middle income class… We have a shared interest to uphold this system that has brought us prosperity and progress all these years.”
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who will also be at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, had an interview with Xinhua News Agency earlier, and said that Singapore-China relations has tremendous potential to grow, especially with the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
