S'pore, China sign agreement

S'pore, China sign agreement

SINGAPORE (AFP): China and Singapore signed an agreement on Monday giving top priority to a flagship industrial park project near Shanghai being built by Singapore, which was earlier threatened by a rival venture.

Top officials from the two countries agreed in a memorandum that the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is "the priority of all priorities in Sino-Singapore economic and technological cooperation."

The memorandum came after Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew expressed dismay over an impasse in the implementation of the 70 square-kilometer (28 square-mile) SIP, which was facing competition from a rival project known as the Suzhou New District.

Lee had hinted earlier this month that Singapore could scale down its participation in the SIP. The SIP, launched in February 1994, is expected to be an efficient and ultramodern Singapore- style industrial township in Suzhou hosting multinational firms setting up in China.