On 19 October 2025, Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and the People’s Republic of China’s (“China“) Ministry of Transport signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU“) to establish the Singapore-China Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (“GDSC“). The MOU underscores both countries’ shared commitment to support the global transition towards a more robust, efficient and sustainable maritime sector.
Pursuant to the MOU, Singapore and China will work with industry stakeholders to:
- promote a more sustainable and connected maritime ecosystem by (i) advancing maritime decarbonisation; (ii) enhancing port and supply-chain efficiency; and (iii) developing supporting technologies, infrastructure and standards; and
- strengthen digitalisation in maritime transport operations by promoting the use of data-driven systems to enhance efficiency, resilience and transparency across the maritime value chain.
The MOU builds on earlier municipal and provincial partnerships with Tianjin and Shandong, heightening the parties’ cooperation to the national level. It comes alongside two other recent MOUs to establish GDSCs:
- MOU with India signed on 4 September 2025 to collaborate on establishing the Singapore-India GDSC. Both countries will work to develop infrastructure and technologies that support the maritime sector’s transition to zero or near-zero greenhouse gas (“GHG“) emission fuels, digital information exchange, and joint research into emerging green technologies and solutions. For other recent developments between Singapore and India, please see our October 2025 Legal Update titled “Strengthening Singapore-India Relations: Adoption of a New Roadmap for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership“.
- MOU with the Republic of Korea (“ROK”) signed on 2 November 2025 to establish the Singapore-ROK GDSC. Both countries will explore and implement initiatives to support the maritime sector’s transition to zero or near-zero GHG emission fuels, and accelerate digitalisation to enhance information exchange and operational efficiency.
Click on the following links for more information (available on the Maritime and Port Authority (“MPA“) of Singapore’s website at www.mpa.gov.sg):
- MPA Media Release titled “Singapore and China Sign Agreement to Establish Green and Digital Shipping Corridor”
- Media Release titled “Singapore and India Formalise Collaboration on Green and Digital Shipping Corridor”
- Media Release titled “Singapore and the Republic of Korea Ink Agreement to Establish Green and Digital Shipping Corridor”
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