Chapter 7: How Singapore Exports Its Development Know-How to China
This chapter is different from the rest of the book. It’s not written by academics. It’s written by Singbridge, the company that actually builds these projects on the ground. So instead of theory, you get the practitioner’s view. How does a Singapore company walk into a Chinese province and say, “Let us help you build a city”? And then actually do it?
Here’s the short version: Singbridge, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, develops large-scale cities in China by adapting Singapore’s urban planning playbook. This chapter covers two big projects: the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (SSGKC) and the Sino-Singapore Jilin Food Zone (SSJFZ).
What Makes These Projects Different
The Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city from earlier chapters were government-to-government deals. Top-level political handshakes. These two are different. They’re private-sector led with government support. Singbridge runs the business side, while both governments provide backing and oversight.
This matters because it shows you don’t always need presidents signing memorandums. Sometimes a well-connected company with a good track record is enough to get things moving.
Guangzhou Knowledge City: From Factories to Brains
Here’s the backstory. In 2008, the global financial crisis hit Guangdong province hard. Guangdong had been a manufacturing powerhouse for decades, but when overseas demand crashed, factories closed and investment dried up. The province’s GDP swings were more extreme than the rest of China because its economy was too dependent on making stuff for export.
So in September 2008, Guangdong’s Party Secretary Wang Yang brought a 400-person delegation to Singapore. He met with Lee Hsien Loong, Goh Chok Tong, and Lee Kuan Yew. His message was blunt: Guangdong needs to shift from manufacturing to a knowledge economy. He told his own officials, “Singapore has been independent since 1965. Its economy until today is still more vibrant than Guangdong’s. If you don’t know how to restructure the economy, go and learn from Singapore.”
Ground was broken in June 2010.
The Numbers
The Knowledge City covers 123 square kilometres, targeting 500,000 people over 20 years. It’s a 50-50 joint venture between Singbridge and the Guangzhou Development District Administrative Committee. The first phase covers 6.27 square kilometres, planned for 78,000 residents and 38,000 jobs. Land is split into thirds: residential, industrial, and public infrastructure.
Not Just Buildings
Here’s the thing about the Knowledge City that goes beyond pouring concrete. It adopts several Singapore concepts:
Neighbourhood centres. If you’ve lived in Singapore, you know these. Hubs with schools, clinics, supermarkets, food courts, and government services. Five were planned for just the first phase so residents can handle daily life without long commutes.
Green planning. Green belts divide the city into sections. Rivers, lakes, and mountains are integrated into the design rather than bulldozed. 100% potable tap water, green building standards, and networks of cycling and walking paths.
A “six-plus-one” economy. Seven target industries: next-gen ICT, biotech, clean energy, creative services, science and education, new materials, and headquarters economy. Higher-value jobs, not more assembly lines.
The Specialized Zones
Inside the Knowledge City, several focused areas were planned. The Dongfang International Healthcare Valley (200 hectares) brings together cancer hospitals and proton therapy centres from Singapore, the US, and Taiwan. An IP Hub handles intellectual property trading and protection. The Ascendas OneHub Business Park (RMB 2.3 billion) targets Fortune 500 companies. A Smart Technology Park (183 hectares) focuses on 3D printing and industrial robotics, with companies like ABB already there. And Guangzhou Greenland City is a mixed-use cluster with a 150-metre high-rise and waterfront retail.
The Software Side
Buildings are the hardware. But Singbridge also transferred “software”: management practices, policies, training programmes. Between 2011 and 2014, over 2,100 officials and business representatives went through training sessions on things like intellectual property, social management, and green building standards.
They also set up an annual Sino-Singapore Knowledge Forum, bringing in experts to discuss economic development, IP protection, and competitiveness.
The Hard Part
Singapore’s government works as a unified system. One small country, one coordinated bureaucracy. China’s governance is layered. The Knowledge City Administrative Committee got municipal-level authority, which helped. But fully replicating Singapore’s “whole-of-government” approach in a Chinese city with overlapping bureaucratic interests? That’s a long-term project in itself.
Also, the relationship had shifted. China in the 2010s was not the 1990s. It went from “show them how it’s done” to “let’s learn from each other.”
Jilin Food Zone: Because People Need Safe Food
The second project tackles food safety, and it’s located about as far from Guangzhou as you can get within China: Jilin province, in the northeast.
The Problem
Food safety in China was (and is) a serious issue. A 2013 McKinsey study found Chinese consumers were more worried about food safety than healthcare, unemployment, or crime. Over 94 million people were getting sick from food-borne diseases every year. Even McDonald’s and KFC got caught up in scandals with tainted meat suppliers.
Here’s the structural problem: China had roughly 500,000 food production companies, 70% with fewer than 10 employees. Regulating that kind of fragmented supply chain is nearly impossible.
Why Jilin?
Jilin province sits on some of the most fertile soil in China, called one of the “golden corn belts” of the world. It produces 5.5% of China’s total grain on just 4.3% of arable land. Yongji county, where the food zone sits, has natural mountain and river barriers ideal for disease control.
The food zone covers 1,450 square kilometres (half of Yongji county), with a 57 square kilometre core area designed by Jurong International.
The Two Pillars
The food zone’s success depends on two things:
First, a foot-and-mouth disease-free zone. In 2012, Yongji became one of only two places in all of China certified disease-free by the Ministry of Agriculture, meeting World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) standards. This involved labs, quarantine stations, checkpoints, and new regulations. Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority endorsed the zone, giving it international credibility.
Second, an integrated food safety system. Think “farm to table” traceability. In 2014, a dedicated Food and Drug Administration was set up as a one-stop agency for inspection, testing, certification, and labelling within the zone. The goal was to create a system that could be replicated across China.
The Business Model
The joint venture is structured differently here. Jilin city government holds 60%, Singbridge holds 40%. The Chinese side has more skin in the game. Multiple Singapore companies are involved: Jurong International did the master plan, Keppel T&T is building the logistics park, and SATS Ltd invested in a pig farm aiming to produce one million porkers annually.
The signing ceremony happened at the Great Hall of the People in 2012, witnessed by PM Lee and then-Premier Wen Jiabao. For a commercially-driven project, that’s serious political backing.
Why This Chapter Matters
What stands out about Chapter 7 is how practical it is. No grand theories. Just a company explaining how it adapts Singapore’s urban planning, food safety, and management know-how to Chinese conditions.
The Knowledge City shows economic restructuring is possible but messy. It takes years, constant negotiation with local bureaucracies, and the Singapore model doesn’t copy-paste into Chinese governance structures.
The Jilin Food Zone shows bilateral cooperation can tackle basic human needs, not just high-tech industries. Safe food is about as fundamental as it gets.
Both projects reveal an important shift. Singapore is no longer just the teacher. The Chinese side brings resources, market knowledge, and their own innovation. It’s a two-way street now, which is probably the only way it keeps working.
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