Comment by Mathew Carr
Dec. 30, 2021 — Singapore, CarrZee comment:
Details are not immediately available, but the fact that Singapore is doing green deals (and others) with both the U.S. and China is more evidence that there’s still hope for wider climate cooperation.
Russia and USA leaders speaking today after China and Russia leaders met, also bodes well.
From China’s point of view, Singapore can be seen as a proxy for the U.S.
From North America’s perspective, Singapore can be seen as a proxy for China.
So Singapore agreements with China (and the USA see below) can take on geopolitical importance beyond their face value.
The 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the World Trade Organizaiton and reform of that institution, could also lock in an era of cleaner free trade, if done well.
China’s WTO deputy director Xiangchen Zhang said today on the World Insight TV channel the WTO was not strong enough. The USA is meanwhile pushing for reform of the rules covering enforcement of its rules:
Even if 2021 disappointed on climate action, there’s still hope for 2022.
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Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat yesterday co-chaired the 17th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation with Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Han Zheng, via video conference.
This was the result:
14 Memorandums Of Understanding, agreements signed at annual Singapore-China bilateral meeting (warning they don’t seems that specific and links are not immediately provided): CNA
For source doc: here
I will try to get the “joint green paper”, which I can’t immediately find.
Fourteen MOUs and agreements were announced at the JCBC:
(a) Cooperation Plan on China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative – New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (CCI ILSTC);
(b) MOU on Urban Governance, Urban Planning and Management;
(c) MOU on Knowledge Sharing;
(d) 9th Executive Programme on Cultural Cooperation (2022-2024);
(e) MOU on “Single Window” Interconnection Consortium Blockchain;
(f) Joint Paper on pursuing Green and Low-Carbon Development;
(g) MOU on Cooperation in Competition Law;
(h) MOU on Nature Conservation;
(i) MOU on “Garden City” Project in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City;
(j) MOU relating to Electronic Certificates for Ships and Seafarers;
(k) MOU to Support the Establishment of the SIP International Business Cooperation Centre (Singapore);
(l) Cooperation Agreement to establish the National University of Singapore Guangzhou Research Translation and Innovation Institute;
(m) MOU to establish an exchange-traded funds (ETF) Product Link; and
(n) Announcement of collaboration on commodity derivatives.
BTW: “DPM Heng and Vice Premier Han jointly unveiled the name of Le Le (叻 叻) – the first Giant Panda cub born in Singapore. The cub was born on 14 August 2021 to Kai Kai and Jia Jia – the pair of Giant Pandas which arrived in Singapore in 2012 as part of a collaboration between Wildlife Reserves Singapore and the China Wildlife Conservation Association on conservation and research.”
US-Singapore climate cooperation (August 2021): CarrZee link here
US-China climate cooperation (November 2021): CarrZee link here
(Updates with Russia and USA meeting, WTO, CarrZee.org links)