China and Singapore are tied by a comprehensive tax treaty, by several trade agreements and by a long history of Chinese commerce in the port. This section will collect articles for Chinese companies as the chapters on Asia in the financial centre book are published. Until then, it gathers the treaty and trade position and points to the chapters on clan, kongsi and credit and to the China Desk.
The Singapore-China double taxation agreement is comprehensive and modified by the multilateral instrument. On PwC's table of 2 July 2026 it sets interest at 7 or 10 per cent and royalties at 6 or 10 per cent, and Singapore charges no withholding tax on dividends.
The China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement dates from January 2009, with upgrades in October 2019 and on 31 December 2024. ASEAN-China and RCEP run alongside it.
From the junks of the southern Chinese ports to the remittance houses, Chinese merchants helped to build the port of Singapore. The financial centre book tells that story in its chapters on the entrepôt and on the moral economy of Chinese commerce.
A Chinese company coming to Singapore today needs the same company, bank and tax decisions as anyone else. These are set out on the overview page.
Start with the China Desk, Doing Business in Singapore or clan, kongsi and credit.
China: Capital, Family Wealth and the Belt and Road
China is Singapore's largest trading partner and the state with which its relationship is most layered. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaHistorical ties and diplomatic relations
The Chinese presence in Singapore is older than the modern state. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaTrade, investment and government-to-government projects
The growth of trade since 1990 has been rapid. Bilateral trade rose from US$8.154 billion in 1998 to US$10.821 billion in 2000. By 2009 it had reached S$75.1 billion. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaChinese enterprises in Singapore
The first Chinese enterprises in modern Singapore were banks and state trading companies. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaChinese family wealth and family offices
The movement of Chinese wealth to Singapore has several causes. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaThe Belt and Road and infrastructure finance
President Xi Jinping presented the Silk Road Economic Belt at Nazarbayev University in Astana on 7 September 2013. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaCompliance challenges in China-related business
The first compliance question in any China-related relationship concerns the origin of the funds. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaChina: Capital, Family Wealth and the Belt and Road: Comparison with Geneva and Hong Kong
Switzerland was among the first Western states to recognise the People's Republic, on 17 January 1950. Read more Singapore · Gateway to AsiaChina: Capital, Family Wealth and the Belt and Road: summary
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… Read more