How Singapore, China can build on their ‘especially valuable’ cooperation amid global headwinds

The foreseeable rise of protectionist policies from the US and potentially some of its allies poses a shared threat to the economic wherewithal of both China and Singapore, noted Dr Xu from CASS.

“As Singapore is a trade-dependent nation, trade liberalisation and investment have been fundamental to its growth. Similarly, China, as one of the world’s largest exporters, also relies on free trade. Rising trade protectionism would harm both countries,” he explained.

Last year, the two countries elevated their bilateral relations to an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership”. As part of this, the two nations are expected to deepen cooperation in areas such as the green and sustainable sectors and the digital economy, Dr Xu noted.

“Such initiatives could serve as a model for regional cooperation, injecting vitality into China-Singapore relations and benefiting the region and even global economic growth,” he said.

While Singapore looks to forge closer links with China, Dr Xu noted that this does not indicate a shift in its longstanding diplomatic principle of even-handedness, and this is an approach that China “respects and understands”.

“China, on its part, has (also) consistently emphasised the importance of strategic autonomy,” he added.

On the flip side, Singapore’s strategic neutrality could be a double-edged sword, noted Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian from the Department of Political Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

“Major powers may begin to perceive Singapore as uncommitted, a conduit for the leakage of key technology, capital, or goods to or from their rivals, or even as duplicitous,” he told CNA.

“This could risk leaving Singapore isolated rather than connected.”