CHONGQING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese firms have raised around 8.5 billion U.S. dollars in cross-border financing deals through a China-Singapore inter-government program over the past three years.

The deals involve various financing channels such as international commercial loans, real estate investment trust and foreign debt, according to Han Baochang, director of the program's administration bureau based in Chongqing Municipality, on Tuesday.

The program has effectively reduced financing costs for businesses in western regions, including Chongqing, provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Qinghai, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Chongqing became the operation center of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity in 2016.

The initiative aims to pilot cooperation in fields, including financial services, aviation, logistics and information technology.

It is the third such deal between the two countries, following the Suzhou Industrial Park established in the eastern province of Jiangsu in 1994, and the Tianjin Eco-city inaugurated in 2008 in north China.

China and Singapore have also strengthened innovative cooperation in financial sectors. Under the China-Singapore initiative, an investment fund valued at 100 billion yuan (around 15 billion U.S. dollars) was jointly established.