China: Capital, Family Wealth and the Belt and Road: summary

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Singapore's relationship with China grew from the ties of a diaspora with its homeland into a relationship between states, beginning with Deng Xiaoping's visit in November 1978 and formalised by diplomatic relations on 3 October 1990. Since 2013, China has been Singapore's largest trading partner and Singapore China's largest foreign investor, a relationship supported by a free trade agreement in force since 2009, by government projects in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing and by renminbi clearing and investment quotas since 2013. Chinese technology companies, entrepreneurs and families have made Singapore a base for international expansion and wealth structuring, a movement that reached a new scale in 2025, when Chinese firms committed S$2.9 billion in fixed asset investment. The Belt and Road Initiative has drawn on Singapore's banks, lawyers and arbitration centre, with mainland Chinese parties forming the largest group of foreign users of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in 2025. These flows require careful due diligence on source of wealth, Chinese exchange control and tax rules, and American export controls and sanctions, as the money laundering case of 2023 and China's taxation of offshore trusts from October 2026 have shown.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For Hong Kong, our parallel site HongkongIQ.com offers the same practical guidance. For crypto and digital assets, dltreg.com covers legal, tax and fiduciary services. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.