Singapore firms take a long-term view towards China, a market with huge potential and growing sophistication, and regard investing in the country as a long game, according to the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) CEO.

"The number that I have been told many times is that China is home to over 400 million middle-income population. Market growth might not always be in a rocketing state. However, the world's second-largest consumer market will still grow," SBF CEO Kok Ping Soon told Xinhua during the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Led by the SBF, a delegation of nearly 400 representatives from 44 Singaporean businesses are attending the CIIE held from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10 this year, which marks the seventh year for the SBF's delegation to participate in the world's first national-level expo on import.

"Some of the previous delegation participants have 'graduated' from the delegation by outgrowing the Singapore Pavilion and setting up their own booths at other exhibition areas of CIIE," Kok said.

With a total exhibition area of close to 912 square meters, the Singapore Pavilion spans the Consumer Goods Hall, Food & Agricultural Products Hall, and Trade in Services Hall.

"We are very encouraged to see some of those companies are no longer just in the food and beverage sector. We are starting to see companies responding to China's call for more high-quality investment in fields like biotech," he noted.

China has been Singapore's largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years. Singapore is China's second-largest foreign investment source and the top destination for Chinese overseas investment.

Kok said there are broad areas of collaboration between the two countries, such as green transformation, AI security and governance, and smart city development.

According to the SBF National Business Survey 2023/2024, China is one of the top three countries that Singapore businesses have a presence in and is among the top three countries in Asia that Singapore businesses are looking to expand into.

China has intensified its opening up in the medical sector to meet the growing healthcare demands of the population. The country announced in September that it would give the green light to establishing wholly foreign-owned hospitals in some cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

"The opening up of the healthcare sector in China presents tremendous opportunity for us," Kok said, citing the case of Mirxes, a CIIE participant seeking local partnerships such as promoting its solution to screen early-stage stomach cancer, drawn by China's huge market potential and enhanced intellectual property protection.

RMA Contracts, a Singapore business process outsourcing company, will be using the CIIE platform to tap into the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, a representative cooperation project between the two countries, according to Kok.

Another interesting thing Kok observed is that Singapore companies are looking beyond penetrating the Chinese market via the CIIE, citing examples of participating companies seeking cooperation with non-Chinese firms.

Kok said CIIE is an important platform for reaching the global market. "You don't just come in thinking to connect with China. If you broaden your mind, you can look for partners in your home country or even outside of China, which is the charm of a platform like CIIE."