From the ancient Babylon that nurtured the Mesopotamian civilization and the ancient Tang Dynasty's capital Chang'an to today's New York, Paris, Beijing and other international metropolises, the splendid history of urban revolution, showcases the splendor of human civilization and epitomizes the yearning of people for a better life. Nowadays, driven by the mobile internet, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, people have higher expectations for urban development. The building of smart cities has gradually gained popularity worldwide and swept across Asia.
The photo shows a night view of Shenzhen on September 16, 2020. (Xinhua)
In October 2019, Shenzhen, the tech hub in south China’s Guangdong Province also known as the "Roc City," and Singapore, known as the "Lion City," signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Singapore-China (Shenzhen) Smart City Initiative, officially kicking off the smart city cooperation between the two cities. Achievements have been made in multiple fields since then, among which the digital intelligence service platform for commercial vehicles and other projects of Shenzhen and Singapore are performing remarkably well.
A total of 20 DST new energy logistics vehicles arrive in Singapore for the first time. (Provided by DST Electric Vehicle Rental)
"We will establish an ecosystem through EVCo to accelerate the transition to low carbon development in the hope of building a greener and better future. Through digitization and big data, we will help our customers accomplish their vision for sustainable development and create long-term value for them," said Managing Director of EVCo Fuji Foo.
On April 22, 2022, DST Electric Vehicle Rental (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. and Strides Mobility, a subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, established EVCo in Singapore, a joint venture that focuses on the electric logistics vehicles used in cities, providing a green, economical, environmentally friendly and full life cycle solution with such vehicles for clients in Singapore and even Southeast Asia.
On November 25, 2022, the third meeting of the Singapore-China (Shenzhen) Smart City Initiative Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) was convened. A MoU was signed on site for the digital intelligence service platform for commercial vehicles, one of the key projects. With the smooth operation of the project, EVCo has so far completed orders for over 500 vehicles, and the amount is expected to reach 1,000 vehicles within 2023. Most of the vehicles will be supplied by DST through China's domestic supply system, which will serve the local green delivery in Singapore.
The photo shows a new energy logistics vehicle of joint venture EVCo. (Provided by DST Electric Vehicle Rental)
"We all have ambitions for sustainable development and green technology. The digital infrastructure and data management capability of EVCo impressed us."
"Through EVCo, not only can we acquire cost-effective electric logistics vehicles, but we can also seamlessly integrate the data-driven operating system into our own operating system, which will bring us closer to the decarbonization goal."
The cooperation on new energy commercial vehicles is just an epitome of the deepening cooperation between Shenzhen and Singapore. Smart city building is a complex and massive systematic project, requiring wisdom and determination from both sides in scientific and technological innovation, trade and investment, cross-border cooperation, talent strategy and other aspects.
What's a smart city actually like?
It is a question often asked since the concept of a smart city was brought up in 2008, and more and more cities are eager to give their own answers. Shenzhen has developed from a small fishing village in the corner of southern China over four decades ago to a global innovation hub, becoming a benchmark of urban renewal for cities in China. Singapore has also become a prominent smart city and a paradigm of economic development in the world since the launch of the "Intelligent Island" project in the 1980s. Today, with the goal of becoming the new cooperation benchmark of jointly building global smart cities, there is no doubt that Shenzhen and Singapore have the most accurate answer and the firmest ground.
Regarding the phase 1 and phase 2 cooperation projects of Shenzhen and Singapore, it is learned that the paperless cross-border trade project has completed the issuance and transfer of the first electronic bill of lading and established an electronic document service interaction system for two-way cross-border trade. The cross-border digital payment project has gained policy support and its system has been launched. Thus, individuals coming from Singapore to Shenzhen for short-term travel, business and other activities may open bank accounts in Shenzhen branches of China CITIC Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and then link their accounts with mobile payment tools in China, which will facilitate small-amount payments during their stay in China. The cross-border "arbitration plus mediation" project has introduced relevant international organizations and world-renowned arbitration institutions through cooperation, and explored to introduce Singapore International Mediation Centre to jointly establish the "diversified dispute resolution center," providing services for diversified disputes of business entities in Shenzhen, Singapore and Asia-Pacific region. The NCS NEXT Shenzhen Innovation Centre project has launched the delivery center business of DBS Bank, and is intended to cooperate with OCBC Bank with willingness on both sides.
At the third JIC meeting held in November 2022, Shenzhen and Singapore confirmed the 14 projects (seven flagship projects and seven key projects) in phase 3 with an estimated two-way investment amount exceeding 4.307 billion yuan, including the development of a smart park, AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) mutual recognition cooperation, "dual carbon," cultural exchanges and other newly expanded cooperation fields in different aspects. Meanwhile, eight MoUs were signed at the meeting.
Joseph Leong, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore, stated that since the initiation of the smart city program in 2019, Singapore and Shenzhen have built closer digital and business ties. He said that the eight MoUs signed will further promote the deepening cooperation between the two sides in areas such as digital connectivity, technological innovation, and talent exchange and training, advance the utilization of emerging technologies to address global sustainability challenges, and achieve high-quality development.
Cities are like the blooming flowers in human civilization, requiring nurturing and nursing. The creation and building of smart cities are necessities that can effectively promote the optimization of people's lives, the enhancement of their civility, as well as their comprehensive development. The building of smart cities is a never-ending process of improvement that requires a ceaseless relay of work. Holding on to the future development path while implementing every detail in the plan is the best way to build smart cities and is also a significant inspiration that we can draw from the cooperation between Shenzhen and Singapore. (By Luo Hao, Zhang Ge)
The photo shows a night view of Singapore on June 11, 2018. (Xinhua)
The photo shows a view of Singapore on August 10, 2022. (Xinhua)
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