The number and scope of partnerships and collaborative projects focused on sustainability between China and Singapore are growing rapidly, generating significant opportunities for firms on both sides.

The two countries have put in place agreements to expand cooperation, with the latest batch signed during the 21st China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in December in Chongqing. The agreements covered areas including streamlining green finance, enhancing technology innovation in clean energy and smart manufacturing, and promoting joint research and collaboration in sustainable development and green technologies, aiming to combine Singaporean innovation with Chinese manufacturing and engineering strengths.

These high-level agreements are translating into tangible benefits for startups on the ground.

"(Singapore is) probably the only country that has this kind of (close) collaboration with the Chinese government," said Shaun Ong, founder of Aqua 3i, a startup focused on making materials efficient, healthier, and more environmentally friendly. It was the first Singaporean firm to win the top prize at the Tianjin Eco-City Green Innovation Competition.

The increased collaboration is already generating benefits by making it easier to work with Chinese firms, Ong said.

He set up his first subsidiary in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City back in 2020, working with Chinese companies and state-owned enterprises. "Our energy-saving coating can be applied for many industries, but we are not the experts in all these industries, so (Chinese firms) have engineers who can experiment using our product and find out what is the best way to maximize results," Ong said.

Singapore has taken active steps to strengthen this type of collaboration through incubators and research centers.

For instance, A*STAR Partners' Centre (A*PC), based in Suzhou Industrial Park, was set up to support collaboration in life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and the green economy. A*PC helps connect Singapore-based green technology firms with partners in China.

In Tianjin Eco-City, the Singapore University of Technology and Design has set up a research center to bring the university's research projects to market. The city also functions as a collaborative test bed for startups focusing on sustainability and the green economy.

With a variety of Sino-Singapore startup incubators, joint projects and alliances, plenty of opportunities exist for Singapore companies and Chinese companies to work together, Ong said.

For Chloe Hung, cofounder of Singaporean company GreenChar Climate Solutions, the increased cooperation helped GreenChar to support China's sustainable agriculture transformation.

"There's a very strong opportunity for Singaporean and Chinese firms to jointly build green solutions that are globally deployable,"Hung said. "We contribute standards and the international market access, and enterprises (in China) contribute the scale, engineering, and the manufacturing expertise, which is very relevant in green infrastructure, carbon management and advanced manufacturing."

With GreenChar's expertise in the carbon credit market, the firm can contribute to helping municipal authorities and government agencies in China and provide a "last mile" connection to unlock the international sustainability finance market, she added.

"The market is huge, and it's a huge opportunity, a blue ocean,"Hung said. "We have been lucky along the way to be working with many different partners, mentors who have guided us along in this journey."

Hung is now working with Zhejiang firm Tongao Group to form a joint venture to develop their carbon credit business. "They have traditionally been very involved in the agricultural, biomass, biochar, fertilizer space and right now they just want that last mile unlocked in terms of developing and selling certified carbon credits," she said. "So, we're helping them create their carbon assets internationally."

Ellis Ng is a freelance journalist for China Daily.