Singapore and China to Jointly Promote the Replication of the Tianjin Eco-City’s Experience

Singapore and China will work together to promote the replication of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city’s development experience in other Chinese cities as well as along the Belt and Road regions as the Eco-city commemorates its 10th anniversary1.

At the 10th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Joint Steering Council Meeting held on 20 September 2018, both countries reaffirmed the Eco-city’s achievements over the past ten years, and reiterated their commitment for the Eco-city to maintain its position as a forerunner in eco-city development in the next decade by pushing the frontier on existing collaboration areas such as Sponge City2 and Smart City.

Moving forward, Singapore and China will go beyond the physical development of the Eco-city to promote the replication of the Eco-city’s development experience in other Chinese cities, as well as along the Belt and Road regions in the future. This cooperation will bring the Eco-city a step closer to realising its vision to be a practical, replicable and scalable model for sustainable development.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development Sun Xueling and Vice Minister for PRC Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Huang Yan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on promoting the replication of the Eco-city’s development experience. The MOU signing was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and his Chinese counterpart Vice Premier Han Zheng. A joint work group comprising senior government officials from the two countries will be formed to oversee the implementation of the MOU in the following areas:

(i) Joint establishment of a China-Singapore institutional mechanism for research in urban sustainable development in the Eco-city to build the Eco-city as a leading global hub on urban solutions, theoretical research and practical innovations;

(ii) Establishment of a global replication platform to promote and replicate the Eco-city’s development experience; and

(iii) Joint promotion and support of collaboration and knowledge exchanges in sustainable urbanisation to raise the Eco-city’s profile and expand its influence.

Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said, “The Eco-city has accumulated useful experiences and lessons in its ten years of development. China and Singapore started the Eco-city as a model for sustainable development. So replication is a key priority for the project’s next phase. Both countries are committed to build on the project’s success and to create liveable and sustainable environments for more people in other parts of China and beyond.”

In preparation for the sharing of the Eco-city’s development experience, the Ministry of National Development and the Eco-city Administrative Committee (ECAC) have been taking stock of the Eco-city’s achievements over the past ten years, and compiling the experiences gained and lessons learnt in the course of building the Eco-city into a document. This is expected to be ready later in the year.

Annex A

[1] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a Framework Agreement for Singapore and China to jointly develop the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city in November 2007. The ground breaking ceremony for the Eco-city construction was held on 28 September 2008.

[2] Sponge cities refer to cities which are able to effectively mitigate flood risks, manage storm flows and collect rainwater for use. The Eco-city is one of China’s national pilot demonstration Sponge Cities.