Cooperation between Taizhou in East China's Zhejiang province and Singapore has continued to grow this year, marked by rising trade, expanding investment, and deeper cultural exchange.

From January to August, bilateral trade reached 4.3 billion yuan ($604 million), increasing 188.67 percent from a year earlier. Taizhou enterprises have invested in 52 projects in Singapore, making the city-state the region's largest source of foreign capital and the top destination for Taizhou's overseas investment.

Taizhou, a city shaped by mountains and sea, shares longstanding connections with Singapore. Since the establishment of the Zhejiang-Singapore Economic and Trade Council in November 2003, the two sides have held 17 meetings and built one of the most enduring economic cooperation mechanisms.

To enhance engagement with Singapore and other RCEP members, Taizhou set up a business representative office in Singapore at the end of 2023. The office quickly became a platform for closer collaboration. In June, Xianju county held its first overseas promotion for waxberry in Singapore. Taizhou honey mandarins also entered the Singapore market for the first time, while bayberry pastries and bayberry wine followed soon after.

Bilateral trade grew 35.2 percent in 2024, with medical and chemical products and plastic goods ranking among the strongest categories.

Investment links have also deepened. The Mapletree (Linhai) Industrial & Logistics Park, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan, stands as a major foreign-funded project from an RCEP country.

Cultural interaction is on the rise as well. From January to September, Taizhou recorded 1,574 hotel stays by visitors from Singapore, up 14.47 percent year-on-year. Exchanges in cuisine and tourism continue to increase interest on both sides.