The sea breeze of Lion City meets the two rivers of Mountain City.

On December 15, the 2025 China-Singapore Bilateral Cooperation Mechanism Meeting was held in Chongqing. This is the highest-level mechanism platform for coordinating cooperation in various fields between China and Singapore. The fact that such a high-profile meeting was held in Chongqing is naturally related to the third intergovernmental cooperation project between China and Singapore—the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Strategic Connectivity Demonstration Project (hereinafter referred to as the China-Singapore Connectivity Project).

Since its official launch in Chongqing in 2015, the China-Singapore Connectivity Initiative has spanned a decade, with 347 government and commercial cooperation projects signed totaling $26 billion, while pioneering 33 institutional open outcomes that are both groundbreaking and distinctive.

Beyond tangible outcomes, the China-Singapore Connectivity Initiative also embodies 'soft connectivity.' This 'soft connectivity,' akin to invisible bridges, bridges the temporal and spatial distances between Chongqing and Singapore, bringing them closer together.

The Bridge of Standards

The Key to New Energy Vehicle Going Global

In November this year, a batch of new energy commercial vehicles EQ2 rolled off the production line of Qingling Automobile Company and headed to Singapore. This marked Qingling as the second commercial vehicle brand in China and the first in Chongqing to enter the Singaporean market.

This is not a simple export of goods, but a "reshaping" of standards.

In March 2024, under the impetus of the Chongqing China-Singapore Demonstration Project Administration, Qingling, Chongqing Norsen, and Singapore's Motorway Company joined forces to support Qingling's new energy vehicle expansion in Singapore. However, the Singaporean automotive market imposes stringent entry requirements for regulations, safety, and performance. For Qingling, entering this market is no simple matter of "switching from left to right steering."

Therefore, Qingling initiated a transformation from the source design phase, conducting R&D and testing in full compliance with EU certification standards. This process was exceptionally complex, involving not only extensive documentation preparation but also technical adjustments for product safety, battery life, and environmental performance. Undoubtedly, it posed a rigorous test to Qingling's quality control and production management systems.

Lin Yabao, President of Motorway, explained that the Keiyo Group took charge of technical challenges, promptly raising any issues for Motorway's assistance. After eighteen months of effort, Keiyo successfully obtained EU certification and met Singapore's roadworthiness standards.

"Once Singapore approves it, neighboring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia will likely endorse it," Lin Yabao noted. This highly valuable "Singapore Pass" has provided Qingling with a broader gateway to global markets.

This story also demonstrates that for 'Chongqing-made' products to better penetrate overseas markets, they must not operate in isolation but align with international standards. Singapore serves as the optimal platform for Chongqing to engage with these standards.

An official from the Chongqing China-Singapore Demonstration Project Administration noted that Singapore enforces stringent standards across multiple sectors. By leveraging the 'soft connectivity' of the China-Singapore Connectivity Initiative, Chongqing can more easily align with international regulations and high-level certification standards, thereby enhancing its competitiveness and enabling 'Made in Chongqing' products to gain global traction more smoothly.