[1] Located in Binhai, the project was deliberately built on "non-arable" land with a "water shortage" to the southeast of Tianjin's urban core, for the declared purpose of serving as a "demonstration that sustainable urbanisation could be achieved despite difficult environmental challenges".

[3] On 25 April 2007,[3] then Senior Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong and former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met and discussed the idea of a planned city to aid with China's rapid urbanization and pursuit of sustainable development.

[1] On 18 November 2007, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Wen Jiabao signed a Framework Agreement for the development of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city.

[1][3] The aim of the agreement was to develop a planned city which was practical, replicable and scalable, and would be more environmentally conscious, particularly in regard to resource and energy conservation.

[6] In 2008, the governments of Singapore and China laid out 26 key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the city's future ecological, economic, and social development.

[3] These initial 26 KPIs comprised 22 quantitative measures and 4 qualitative measures, and included guidelines for air quality, water quality, noise pollution, wetland and shoreline protection, urban greenspace, water consumption, modes of transportation, waste generation, local employment opportunities, and other areas.

[3] Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao officiated at the event, signifying the beginning of construction work on the Eco-city.

The Ministry of National Development addressed the importance of designing a space where work, leisure, and sustainability can intersect through a "Green Smart Hub" and Friendship Garden.

[14] During the period spanning from 2014 to September 2018, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City experienced a remarkable surge in the number of registered companies.

The cumulative registered capital of these enterprises amounted to a staggering RMB 270 billion, indicative of the thriving business environment within the Eco-City.

[15] The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City has emerged as a noteworthy economic hub, fueled by its commitment to sustainable development and strategic partnerships.

Additionally, the Software Development Cloud has brought about a revolutionary shift in enterprise operations through its comprehensive cloud-based DevOps platform.

[20] Prior to the development of the city, the area of the project largely comprised saltpans, barren land, and polluted bodies of water.

[1] It previously constituted a center for salt mining, a site for carbon sink at wetlands, and a century-old cultural landscape praised by the Chinese poet Fan Bin.

[13] The China-Singapore Friendship Garden serves as the city's main park, spanning an area of 41 hectares (0.16 sq mi) along the Ji Canal.

[24] A light-rail transit system, supplemented by a secondary network of trams and buses, will be the main mode of transportation in the Eco-city, which developers hope will help to reduce its carbon emissions.