Guangdong and Singapore: 2,700 kilometers apart, yet "zero distance"

GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a news report from South.

Guangdong and Singapore are nearly 2,700 kilometers apart, but the two places have long been intertwined.

"Guangdong has been Singapore's top provincial trading partner for 36 years for a reason," says Mr. Ong Ye Kung, Singapore Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, as well as Co-Chair of the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council.

This year, the partnership takes on added significance as Shenzhen prepares to host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. This serves as a timely reminder that bilateral ties are part of a wider regional vision.

The vision is already taking shape on the ground. In Singapore's Punggol district, autonomous robotaxis developed by WeRide, a Guangzhou-based company, are ferrying residents along three routes that connect shopping malls, housing estates and a polyclinic.

"We are complementing the public transport service to improve connectivity and provide better transportation alternatives for local residents," says Kerry Xu, General Manager of WeRide Singapore. The company plans to deploy thousands of robotaxis across Southeast Asia in the coming years.

Midea, another major company from Guangdong, is providing centralized cooling solutions for Singapore's public housing. This approach eliminates the need for bulky outdoor units and helps save energy. "The market pushes us to keep improving. It's a true two-way exchange," says Adam Yu, the company's regional director for Singapore and Malaysia.

The flow goes both ways. Lion TCR, a Singapore-born biotech company, set up operations in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City and completed a 300-million-yuan Series B financing round through the Guangdong-Singapore Cooperation Council platform.

"It offers a practical, workable mechanism to help Singaporean companies establish a presence in Guangzhou," says Dr. Peng Xiaoming, Lion TCR's CEO.

For Tanny Kong, a Singaporean who studied traditional Chinese medicine in Guangzhou for eight years, the connection is personal. "I've brought many habits from Guangzhou back with me," she says. "When I see Singaporean touches in Guangdong, I suddenly feel a sense of familiarity."

"Collaboration is like that. You go through good times, you go through bad times, and during good times, let's have win-win cooperation. During bad times, let's help out each other and try to pull through difficult times. Good times will, if you are patient, if you work together, good times will come again." says Ong. With the APEC meeting in Shenzhen on the horizon, this message carries a new resonance for the entire region.