On 19 October 2023, the first live digital trade between China and Singapore was completed by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA“) and the Beijing Two-Zone Office (comprising the Office of the Leading Group for the Work of the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector).
The pilot involved COFCO Industrial Food, a China-based food exporter, shipping a container of canned food to Yit Hong, a Singapore-based food distributor. Significantly, the shipment used an electronic Bill of Lading (“eBL“) enabled by IMDA’s blockchain-based TradeTrust, which allows for digital trade documents to be authenticated, provenance traced, and digitally processed to mitigate fraud risks. Using AEOTradeChain (a trusted trade cooperation network launched by the Beijing TradeTech Alliance), the paperless trade transaction across the border was successfully carried out by all participating companies in China and Singapore.
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