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The China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, located around 35km from Guangzhou’s city centre, was developed in 2010 by a joint venture company between the Singapore-based real estate group CapitaLand and Guangzhou Development District, to spur Guangdong’s economic transformation.
Now 232 sq km large, the commercial development also houses recreational, educational and healthcare facilities and is home to about 200,000 residents.
Within the Knowledge City, Mr Lee made stops at the China-Singapore International Joint Research Institute, the China-Singapore Smart Park and a Hwa Chong Institution-affiliated school, Guangzhou SingChin Academy.
Guangzhou Knowledge City’s deputy chief executive Kenneth Teo said the China-Singapore Smart Park had expedited the second phase of its expansion to June this year, ahead of its original timeline of October, due to pent-up demand from companies after the pandemic.
Mr Teo told CNA: “The interest of companies has been very very strong, we are seeing a lot of visitors in the recent weeks as well. We are seeing that companies are also investing time and effort to actually come into the market to quickly roll out what they have planned for the last three years.”
Among the around 60 firms that have set up in the business park – which opened in June last year – are Singapore companies Singrow and BioSyngen.
Singrow is an agri-tech startup that has developed a method to cultivate strawberries in the tropics, while biotech firm BioSyngen focuses on cancer treatment through cell therapy.
Mr Lee was also shown around Guangzhou SingChin Academy’s campus, where he was greeted by scores of students aged between six and 17.
The Prime Minister also had lunch with Guangdong-based Singapore corporate leaders from a range of industries, during which he had a “fruitful discussion on the business environment in Guangdong and China, and the opportunities for companies to grow” in the market, Mr Lee’s press secretary told the media on Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, Mr Lee and his delegation, comprising Mrs Lee and other Singapore ministers and officials, toured the cultural area of Yongqingfang in Guangzhou, and learned about its restoration efforts.
Mr Lee also visited autonomous vehicle company WeRide and met Singaporeans based in Guangdong, on the first day of his trip to China.
For the remaining legs of his tour, Mr Lee is expected to give a speech at the Bo’ao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan as well as meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
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