First, the Suzhou debacle, as reported by The Economist in 1998:
Five years ago, the city-state of Singapore, a dot on the end of a not entirely friendly peninsula, set out in search of a hinterland. This was in the heady days of the “China boom”, when China's success—and much of East Asia's for that matter—seemed to be teaching the rest of the world a thing or two. In turn, Singapore's leaders, never short of self-regard, thought they had something to teach the Chinese about running society. The result was a $20 billion plan to create Singapore's graven image on some 70 square kilometres (27 square miles) outside Suzhou, an ancient merchant town to the west of Shanghai. On this field of dreams the Singaporeans would build a super-city for 600,000 contented people who would enjoy first-world infrastructure, clean government and low taxes.
From the beginning, Singapore's leaders said they would arrange things in the “Asian way”; this was not the table-thumping style of westerners, but a quiet, behind-the-scenes approach based on mutual trust and understanding. The prospect of part of unruly China being placed under Singaporean management seemed irresistible—until, that is, the region's financial troubles made it plain Asian values can work no greater magic than anyone else's. Rather, Singapore, like some other foreign investors in China, has got its fingers burnt by being over-ambitious.
(However by December 1997 Lee Kuan Yew seems to have changed his mind).Mr Lee criticised local officials for persuading foreign investors to come to the New District, not the SIP. He also attacked the central government, for failing to spot “municipal shenanigans”. And for good measure he threw in criticism of flip-flops in central-government policy, notably an imminent about-turn on tax exemptions for imported machinery. “In a period of less than one year,” remonstrated Mr Lee, “you turn left, and then you turn right.” Singapore, runs the undercurrent of Mr Lee's comments, did not prosper by doing things so inconsistently.
The deal was a bad one for Singapore:
The Singaporean chief executive officer of the China-Singapore park said recently that the park had lost an average of $23.5 million a year since 1994 and that its loss would reach $90 million by the end of 2000.
One would think that the Suzhou debacle would have ended Singapore and Lee's Suzhou ambition, but no. First Singapore was forced to give up control:
The agreement to transfer ownership looks like a partial exit strategy. The Singapore consortium, made up of 12 companies, many government-linked, will lower its share of the project to 35 percent on January 1, 2001, from the current 65 percent. It will sell facilities like power and water-treatment plants to the Chinese partners. Over the next 18 months it will lead the development of eight square kilometres, not the 70 square kilometres it had originally planned, and then let the Chinese side lead whatever comes next.
And then, accept that the SIP is a success,an example to emulate:
Top officials from Suzhou visiting Singapore this week have lauded a joint industrial project in the eastern Chinese city as a model for China’s economic cooperation with other countries.
Lan Shaomin, Suzhou’s freshly appointed Communist Party secretary, said the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park was an “important window” for China as it opened up to the world.
The park was the brainchild of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and illustrated the “complementary relationship” between the two nations, Lan said.
“Our relationship has come very far,” he added.
Lan was speaking at a symposium in Singapore on Tuesday at which prospective investors from Suzhou were eyeing business deals in the Southeast Asian city state. The official, who was on a five-day introductory trip after taking the reins as Suzhou party chief in September, had earlier met with Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.
The fairytale is often repeated in Singapore without any reference to the past(see Strait Times story below).
The Suzhou Syndrome then is essentially this: getting so badly burned and tricked by your Chinese business partners (who are invariably part of the Communist Party Of China or the PLA) that you have no choice but to sing their praises. If not, even that which has been salvaged will be lost.
Both Stokes and Forrest lead public companies; their recent statements in support of China suggest that the financial position of Seven and Fortescue ought to be re-evaluated, their books looked at with fresh eyes.
END
Suzhou Industrial Park - pathfinder for Singapore-China cooperation - celebrates 25th year
Lim Yan Liang
SUZHOU, CHINA - The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) has been a pathfinder for bilateral cooperation for the past quarter century, and it must strive to keep playing that role in China's development going forward, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
That SIP is today a hallmark of bilateral cooperation is the result of the strong sense of purpose and commitment shared by both the Singapore and Chinese governments, Mr Teo said in a speech on Friday (April 12) at a ceremony here to mark the project's 25th anniversary.
Started in 1994, SIP received the backing of top leaders from both sides. It was the first government-to-government project between the two countries, meant both for China to learn from Singapore's industrialisation experiences and to be part of Singapore's strategy to develop an external wing to its economy.
"The story of the SIP is also a story of our close bilateral relations, and can be traced back to the friendship and mutual respect between Mr Deng Xiaoping and Mr Lee Kuan Yew," said Mr Teo, referring to China's late paramount leader and the late first prime minister of Singapore.
At the ceremony, Premier Li Keqiang sent a congratulatory message on behalf of the central government, in which he lauded the joint project for being ahead of its time.
"It was very bold in pioneering and absorbing internationally advanced technologies and experiences," he said. "The SIP is proactively driving innovation, realising leapfrog development, and also contributed to the reciprocal cooperation between China and Singapore."
Despite some early bumps, SIP is today an unqualified success story. For three consecutive years since 2015, it has been ranked first by China's Commerce Ministry out of more than 200 Economic and Technological Development Zones, and regularly tops developmental indices.
Related Story
Suzhou Industrial Park has progressed rapidly to dynamic and innovative township: DPM Teo Chee Hean
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In 2018, Singapore-SIP trade grew 20.2 per cent from the previous year to reach US$2.02 billion, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Related Story
Singapore hopes to take ties with China even further: DPM Teo Chee Hean
The 288-sq km zone has also progressed beyond a traditional industrial park and seen steady growth of emerging high-tech industries such as biomedicine and nanotechnology, Mr Teo added, while noting that SIP's model has since been replicated in several Chinese cities from Chuzhou in Anhui to Khorgas in Xinjiang.
Related Story
China, Singapore agree to deepen ties in various areas
"Besides generating good jobs and income, the SIP has been widely acknowledged as an attractive city to live in," he said. "Over the years, many residents from the surrounding areas and beyond have moved to the SIP to enjoy the modern and well-planned facilities and living environment."
The SIP has also provided a platform for the two countries to build mutual trust and understanding. Mr Teo noted that several Singapore officials worked on the project before they became Cabinet ministers, and count many Jiangsu and Suzhou colleagues as old friends.
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute senior fellow Lye Liang Fook said the far-reaching political impact of SIP endures today, as seen in the various institutional mechanisms for bilateral cooperation that came in its wake, such as the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation launched in 2003.
"To drive the SIP project, a high-level bilateral cooperation framework was created, which was subsequently upgraded to oversee all aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries," he wrote in a book to mark 50 years of bilateral ties in 2015.
Building on SIP's model, the two countries went on to launch the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in 2008 and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity in 2015 to support China's Belt and Road Initiative and other development strategies, noted Mr Teo.
Looking back, the important lessons China learnt were in the software being transferred from Singapore, such as in innovativeness and a "pioneering and spearheading spirit" when it came to reform, said Suzhou party secretary Zhou Naixiang.
These ideas and principles, such as the need to have and stick to a masterplan, were initially difficult to accept and caused a deadlock in the early years of the project, noted Mr Lye.
But officials from both sides soldiered on and achieved consensus after one-and-a-half years of painstaking negotiations, said Business China chairman Lee Yi Shyan.
"We came to a resolution which was acceptable by both governments, and it was a turning point for SIP," he said. "Our relationship changed from being adversarial to one characterised by single-mindedness and teamwork."
For SIP to build on its legacy and successes, the industrial park should stay at the forefront, such as by being a testbed for new policy liberalisation across different sectors and to move up the value chain towards areas like innovation and start-ups, said Mr Teo.
SIP can also serve as the vehicle for both countries to expand cooperation into the region, such as to jointly develop similar high-quality industrial parks in third-party markets, he added. It should also continue to be a key platform to strengthen people-to-people ties, which are the bedrock of bilateral relations, said Mr Teo.
A memorandum of understanding that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Suzhou Municipal Government signed last September will strengthen bilateral exchanges through the attachment of Singapore government officials to Suzhou, he noted.
"Our people should continue learning from one another and deepen mutual understanding through frequent two-way exchanges," he said.
Jiangsu party secretary Lou Qinjian agreed, and said Beijing supports the SIP as being "the flag for China's modernisation drive".
"As a test-bed for China's reform and opening up, SIP will continue to liberalise minds, work hard to deepen reforms, and conduct pilots and experiments for innovation."
SUZHOU, CHINA - The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) has been a pathfinder for bilateral cooperation for the past quarter century, and it must strive to keep playing that role in China's development going forward, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
That SIP is today a hallmark of bilateral cooperation is the result of the strong sense of purpose and commitment shared by both the Singapore and Chinese governments, Mr Teo said in a speech on Friday (April 12) at a ceremony here to mark the project's 25th anniversary.
Started in 1994, SIP received the backing of top leaders from both sides. It was the first government-to-government project between the two countries, meant both for China to learn from Singapore's industrialisation experiences and to be part of Singapore's strategy to develop an external wing to its economy.
"The story of the SIP is also a story of our close bilateral relations, and can be traced back to the friendship and mutual respect between Mr Deng Xiaoping and Mr Lee Kuan Yew," said Mr Teo, referring to China's late paramount leader and the late first prime minister of Singapore.
At the ceremony, Premier Li Keqiang sent a congratulatory message on behalf of the central government, in which he lauded the joint project for being ahead of its time.
"It was very bold in pioneering and absorbing internationally advanced technologies and experiences," he said. "The SIP is proactively driving innovation, realising leapfrog development, and also contributed to the reciprocal cooperation between China and Singapore."
Despite some early bumps, SIP is today an unqualified success story. For three consecutive years since 2015, it has been ranked first by China's Commerce Ministry out of more than 200 Economic and Technological Development Zones, and regularly tops developmental indices.
Related Story
Suzhou Industrial Park has progressed rapidly to dynamic and innovative township: DPM Teo Chee Hean
Get exclusive insights of Asia from our network of correspondents
Keep up with the latest in the region with the ST Asian Insider newsletter, delivered to your inbox every weekday
Sign up
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
In 2018, Singapore-SIP trade grew 20.2 per cent from the previous year to reach US$2.02 billion, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Related Story
Singapore hopes to take ties with China even further: DPM Teo Chee Hean
The 288-sq km zone has also progressed beyond a traditional industrial park and seen steady growth of emerging high-tech industries such as biomedicine and nanotechnology, Mr Teo added, while noting that SIP's model has since been replicated in several Chinese cities from Chuzhou in Anhui to Khorgas in Xinjiang.
Related Story
China, Singapore agree to deepen ties in various areas
"Besides generating good jobs and income, the SIP has been widely acknowledged as an attractive city to live in," he said. "Over the years, many residents from the surrounding areas and beyond have moved to the SIP to enjoy the modern and well-planned facilities and living environment."
The SIP has also provided a platform for the two countries to build mutual trust and understanding. Mr Teo noted that several Singapore officials worked on the project before they became Cabinet ministers, and count many Jiangsu and Suzhou colleagues as old friends.
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute senior fellow Lye Liang Fook said the far-reaching political impact of SIP endures today, as seen in the various institutional mechanisms for bilateral cooperation that came in its wake, such as the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation launched in 2003.
"To drive the SIP project, a high-level bilateral cooperation framework was created, which was subsequently upgraded to oversee all aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries," he wrote in a book to mark 50 years of bilateral ties in 2015.
Building on SIP's model, the two countries went on to launch the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in 2008 and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity in 2015 to support China's Belt and Road Initiative and other development strategies, noted Mr Teo.
Looking back, the important lessons China learnt were in the software being transferred from Singapore, such as in innovativeness and a "pioneering and spearheading spirit" when it came to reform, said Suzhou party secretary Zhou Naixiang.
These ideas and principles, such as the need to have and stick to a masterplan, were initially difficult to accept and caused a deadlock in the early years of the project, noted Mr Lye.
But officials from both sides soldiered on and achieved consensus after one-and-a-half years of painstaking negotiations, said Business China chairman Lee Yi Shyan.
"We came to a resolution which was acceptable by both governments, and it was a turning point for SIP," he said. "Our relationship changed from being adversarial to one characterised by single-mindedness and teamwork."
For SIP to build on its legacy and successes, the industrial park should stay at the forefront, such as by being a testbed for new policy liberalisation across different sectors and to move up the value chain towards areas like innovation and start-ups, said Mr Teo.
SIP can also serve as the vehicle for both countries to expand cooperation into the region, such as to jointly develop similar high-quality industrial parks in third-party markets, he added. It should also continue to be a key platform to strengthen people-to-people ties, which are the bedrock of bilateral relations, said Mr Teo.
A memorandum of understanding that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Suzhou Municipal Government signed last September will strengthen bilateral exchanges through the attachment of Singapore government officials to Suzhou, he noted.
"Our people should continue learning from one another and deepen mutual understanding through frequent two-way exchanges," he said.
Jiangsu party secretary Lou Qinjian agreed, and said Beijing supports the SIP as being "the flag for China's modernisation drive".
"As a test-bed for China's reform and opening up, SIP will continue to liberalise minds, work hard to deepen reforms, and conduct pilots and experiments for innovation."
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