Singapore calls for deeper cooperation with China amid geopolitical shifts and social pressures

SINGAPORE – Singapore and China must deepen cooperation and strengthen trusted leadership to navigate a period of profound global shifts, ministers from Singapore said on Nov 18.

Speaking at the 10th Singapore-China Forum on Leadership, which coincides with the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing noted that the current era is marked by geopolitical competition, rapid technological disruption and diverse aspirations in societies.

The world today, noted Mr Chan, stands at an “inflection point”, as it faces challenges that are reshaping how nations govern, grow and live together. “We must build on our partnership to shape trends, seize opportunities, and forge new paths forward,” he said.

The challenges include intensifying geopolitical competition and a crisis of confidence in institutions that have underpinned the global order for decades.

Mr Chan noted that bodies such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation are increasingly seen as ineffective, outdated or irrelevant, with conflicts bypassing the UN Security Council and trade disputes going around the WTO.

When climate agreements lack enforcement and multilateral frameworks are questioned, people lose faith not just in the institutions themselves, he said, but also in the idea that nations can work together to solve shared problems.

“The danger lies not merely in competition between nations, but in the wholesale abandonment of cooperative frameworks,” he said. “When nations retreat into silos, when supply chains become weapons, when cooperation becomes a casualty of rivalry – we all lose.”

True leaders understand that short-term victories at the cost of long-term trust ultimately become defeats, he said.

Against this backdrop, countries must resist the temptation to turn inward or seek quick wins that erode long-term trust. Instead of retreating into silos or pursuing surface victories, Mr Chan said Singapore and China should continue to find common ground and keep their societies and economies open to cooperation with partners everywhere, under a multilateral framework anchored on respect for international law and the UN Charter.

Mr Chan called for more consultation and collaboration between the two countries, saying that through such efforts, both sides can jointly safeguard regional peace and stability and strengthen global governance resilience.

Technological disruption is another shift, Mr Chan said, with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, quantum technologies and 5G transforming industries with “extraordinary speed”.

Emerging technologies create opportunities in production, decision-making and innovation, but also pose challenges such as system integration, data security, ethical norms and talent development.

Singapore and China have historically benefited from adaptability and fewer legacy constraints, Mr Chan said, but they must now do more to strengthen research and development, align standards, guide policies and cultivate talent so that innovation remains resilient.

“We can also jointly work together to develop guard rails to ensure that new technologies, like AI, truly serve and complement human endeavours while reassuring our people that everyone can keep pace with and benefit from this development,” said Mr Chan.

Diverse aspirations of societies is also a challenge for nations, with Mr Chan noting that this comes as inequality, ideology and identity become sharper lines of division in many countries.

When people feel unheard or lose faith in the future, societies become vulnerable to populism, polarisation and paralysis, he said.

Such pressures are compounded by a rapidly ageing populace, especially in Singapore and China. Singapore’s support ratio has fallen from six working-age persons per senior in 2014 to 3.5 today, and is expected to decline further to 2.7 by 2030.

Younger generations are also starting from more affluent bases and may focus more on passions, marry later or choose not to marry or have children, which will have profound implications on the family as a key institution of society, Mr Chan said.

“We must listen to our people, respond to expectations, and harness collective wisdom,” he said.

He added: “Through policy innovation, skills training, health management, and improved eldercare, we can transform demographic dividends into knowledge dividends and ageing challenges into development opportunities.”

Also commenting on the pressures of technological changes and an ageing society, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said Singapore and China face common challenges in sustaining growth and renewing confidence among their citizens in an era marked by unprecedented change.

She noted that both countries have total fertility rates far below the replacement level of 2.1 – it is around 0.97 in Singapore and about 1.0 in China – and the respective populations are rapidly ageing.

In Singapore, seniors aged 65 and above now make up more than 15 per cent of the population, while China’s elderly population is projected to exceed 30 per cent by 2050.

“After delivering for our people for decades, the task now is to deliver with them. Both societies must renew the compact between State and citizens, between older and younger generations, and between stability and renewal,” said Mrs Teo.

She said that sustaining the engines of growth is a challenge both countries share, as older models of labour expansion, capital accumulation and catch-up industrialisation run their course.

Productivity, innovation and higher-value creation must now power the next stage of development, said Mrs Teo.

China’s emphasis on “new productive forces” parallels Singapore’s efforts to deepen digital capabilities and move up the global value chain. Both nations must ensure that growth remains inclusive and sustainable, she said.

Economic upgrading is not only about technology or capital, she said, but also about people, referring to reskilling workers, rejuvenating enterprises and keeping confidence alive that progress remains within reach for everyone.

Mrs Teo highlighted initiatives such as Singapore lifelong learning movement SkillsFuture, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Digital Leaders Programme, which helps businesses build digital road maps and deploy technology responsibly.

Another shared challenge for both countries concerns youth aspirations and social momentum. Mrs Teo noted that in China, the phrases “lying flat” and “involution” reflect exhaustion and frustration from relentless competition, while in Singapore, young people express concerns about cost of living, pressure to perform and uncertainty about progress.

“The challenge for leadership is to counter resignation with hope through timely interventions to meet the needs of our youth and channelling their efforts to causes they find meaningful,” she said.

To do so, Singapore adjusts its education, housing and economic policies regularly. Mrs Teo highlighted Singapore’s efforts like the SG Youth Plan and the National Youth Council’s programmes, which allows young Singaporeans to co-create solutions in areas such as climate action, inclusivity and innovation.

Both Singapore and China also face the challenge of ensuring trusted leadership. This, said Mrs Teo, rests on unwavering moral integrity and a deep commitment to core values.

She cited Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said that “a person cannot succeed without virtues”, and recalled Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s emphasis that Singapore’s multiracial society must be one where everyone has an equal place regardless of language, culture or religion.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, noted Mrs Teo, has also stressed that Singapore’s multiracial model does not require any community to give up its heritage or traditions. Instead, it rests on integration, not assimilation.

“Both our countries recognise that leadership grounded in moral clarity and cultural respect is paramount. By nurturing leaders who embody these principles, we will build a future where trust and unity prevail,” she said.

At the event, Chinese leaders, including Mr Shi Taifeng, Minister of the Organisation Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Mr Huang Jianfa, Executive Vice-Minister of the Organisation Department of the CPC Central Committee, also gave speeches in Mandarin.

At the event, Singapore’s Public Service Division and the CPC’s Central Organisation Department also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the exchanges of senior officials.

Mr Chan noted that trust between the two countries has been built up “project by project, crisis by crisis, person by person”.

It is this “leadership-driven mutual trust” that has kept bilateral relations steady, he said.

In addition to longstanding China-Singapore initiatives such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-City, Guangzhou Knowledge City and Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, the two countries’ cooperation is also now expanding into green and digital domains, joint research, and training in South-east Asia, among others, Mr Chan said.

He noted that Singapore and China have chosen cooperation over confrontation, inclusion over isolation, and integrity over expediency. “Most importantly, we choose to lead not because we must, but because we can make a difference,” he said.

Mr Chan added: “Let us be the generation of leaders who turned the age of anxiety into the age of possibility. Let us be remembered not for the power we held, but for the hope we kindled.”

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