Three-year action plan transforms city's international image and economy

 Update:2020-12-30    Source: China Daily

Guangzhou, as an important city involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, has benefited from a three-year (2018-20) action plan to advance the construction of the BRI and made substantial progress in building a new system for high-level opening-up and an export-oriented economy.

The city has strengthened communications and launched international events to promote its image. Since 2016, 13 new consulates general and 26 international sister cities have been added.

Guangzhou has also made efforts to accelerate the construction of an international transport hub.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport's third phase broke ground in September. After its completion, the airport's flight network is expected to cover 50 cities in 29 BRI-involved countries and regions. It is to increase to No 11 in the world in terms of annual passenger throughput.

Guangzhou Port has opened 216 container routes, including 110 overseas routes. Its cargo handling capacity and annual container throughput both rank fourth in China.

A Japanese beverage business representative promotes a product to a potential buyer in Guangzhou. CHINA DAILY

The city has sped up the layout of new infrastructure and its 5G construction is at the forefront of the country. Guangzhou can complete 1 billion picture interface calls every day.

To support companies' expansion in the international market, Guangzhou has sped up the construction of customs clearance at ports, providing one-stop integrated services for main businesses in international trade.

From 2017-19, Guangzhou invested in 109 new companies and institutions in the countries and regions involved in the BRI.

The Sino-Saudi Jizan economic city is an important BRI project. Construction began in January.

Guangzhou Pan-Asia PET Resin Company launched a petrochemical project in the city involving more than $1 billion in investment value. It marks the largest single overseas investment project and an example of Guangzhou's advanced manufacturing industry investing abroad.

The distribution of foreign-funded financial institutions has been optimized in Guangzhou in recent years. By the end of 2019, a total of 41 foreign financial institutions from 16 countries and regions have set up 77 branches in the city.

Financial institutions in Guangzhou are participating in the construction of the BRI.

China Development Bank Guangdong branch provided 250 billion yuan ($38.28 billion) and the Export-Import Bank of China Guangdong branch set up a Belt and Road major project reserve and launched a plan.

Meanwhile, Guangzhou attaches importance to cultural exchanges.

The city led the establishment of the Maritime Silk Road protection and joint world heritage application alliance, with 26 member cities, in an effort to promote cultural heritage preservation and exchanges.

The event series Floral Whisper Along the Silk Road－Cultural Journey of Maritime Silk Road hosted by Guangzhou was held in countries and regions including Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Cyprus.

Guangzhou to attract more international talents

 Update:2021-01-05    Source: eguangzhou.gov.cn

The Regulation of Guangzhou on Science and Technology Innovationwas recently approved at the 44th session of the Standing Committee of the 15th Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress, and will be implemented following approval by the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee.

According to the regulation, Guangzhou will build a technological innovation axis linking the city's key nodes, with the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City and the Nansha Science and Technology City at the two ends, and will attract first-tier talents, colleges and universities, research institutions, and sci-tech enterprises from around the nation.

It is also proposed that development of core technologies in key areas such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, intelligent connected vehicles, biomedicine, brain science and brain-like research, new energy, as well as new materials, will be supported.

Guangzhou will also increase funding for training and introducing sci-tech talents, carry out pilot programs for skilled migration, construct apartments for skilled workers, and implement a green card system for talents, which will ensure that high-level sci-tech talents without household registration in Guangzhou will enjoy the same treatment as local citizens.

According to the regulation, Guangzhou will focus on bringing in and training four types of high-level sci-tech talents and teams.

These are: international top strategic scientists and teams of scientists in basic research or core technology research in strategic emerging industries; talent teams initiating strategic industrial projects, extending industrial chains and mastering core technologies; talents and talent teams in the high-end service industries for sci-tech innovation; and talents and talent teams recognized by the Guangzhou municipal government that play a leading role in sci-tech innovation and entrepreneurship or industrial development in Guangzhou.

Demand from TMT industries remain robust in Guangzhou’s office rental market

 Update:2021-01-12    Source: Newsgd.com

Guangzhou’s Grade-A office rental market continued to warm up in the second half of 2020. However, the new demand citywide was at its lowest over the past ten years the due to Covid-19 pandemic. The average rent dropped to 166.4 yuan per square meter per month by the end of Q4, according to Savills, a global property agent.

5 Grade A office projects have been launched in Guangzhou throughout 2020, pushing up the vacancy rate to 8.7 percent by the end of the year. Although the rental market has been warming up with increasing enquiries and property inspection since the second half of the year, some enterprises tended to extend the decision-making process as they are still relatively cautious about office cost control.

Demand from the TMT industries has been robust and contributed to most of the annual growth as the local economy bounces back while the information technology industry is rapidly developing. The demand from the financial industry has been strong throughout the year and saw large leasing transactions every quarter.

Guangzhou is expected to see its new grade A office supplies peak in 2021. New projects will be located in Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe Bei and Pazhou. The average rent is anticipated to continue to decline due to new demand.

According to the Savills’ report, Guangzhou’s office market is expected to attract more domestic and oversea investors with the rapid development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The enquiries, project inspection and transaction activities should all continue in 2021.

Guangdong airport leads world in passenger flow

 Update:2021-01-26    Source: chinadaily.com.cn

A Qatar Airways flight lands at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangdong province.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the Guangdong provincial capital surpassed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States to become the world's busiest airport of 2020.

Despite the pandemic last year, the Guangzhou airport, one of the three busiest on the Chinese mainland, handled 43.77 million passenger trips last year, around 800,000 more than the figure recorded at the Atlanta airport, according to a statement released by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on Monday.

Last year, with the pandemic in full swing, the Atlanta airport logged 42.92 million passenger trips, a year-on-year decline of 61.17 percent.

This is the first time a Chinese airport has led the world in passenger flow, the statement said.

As the pandemic began to be controlled on the Chinese mainland starting in April, Guangzhou Baiyun began handling more passenger trips than its Atlanta counterpart. Large industrial companies in the province, home many foreign-funded companies, joint ventures, State-owned and private firms, resumed production, the statement said.

For the month of November, Guangzhou Baiyun handled more than 5 million passenger trips, becoming the first airport to process more than 5 million passenger trips on the mainland in a single month.

The rapid growth in the passenger flow at Guangzhou Baiyun indicates a strong economic rebound in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as the coronavirus has basically been controlled on the mainland.

Guangdong's GDP reached more than 11 trillion yuan ($1.69 trillion) in 2020.

Plan for Guangzhou airport hub moves forward

 Update:2021-02-03    Source: chinadaily.com.cn

Construction of the central business district in Guangzhou Aerotropolis Development District officially kicked off in Guangdong province on Monday. [Photo/Guangzhou Aerotropolis Development District Administration]

Construction of the central business district in Guangzhou Aerotropolis Development District officially kicked off in Guangdong province on Monday, aiming to make the southern metropolis into a world-class aviation hub in the years to come.

A strategic cooperation framework agreement to promote the hub was signed on Monday by Guangzhou Aerotropolis Development District Administration, Guangzhou Customs, China Southern Airlines Group and the Guangdong Airport authority.

In addition, the Guangdong branch of China Development Bank signed a cooperative agreement to financially support construction.

The project will cost more than 18 billion yuan ($2.77 billion), including the construction of a landmark airport complex in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to a statement released by the Guangzhou Aerotropolis Development District Administration.

The complex will have floor space of 1.5 million square meters which include hotels, business centers, convention and exhibition halls, cultural and tourism facilities, shopping malls and offices for international company headquarters, it said.

Hu Hong, vice-mayor of Guangzhou, said the development zone will play an important role in promoting high-quality economic development in Guangzhou in the years ahead.

Ding Jibao, director of Guangzhou Customs, said Guangzhou Customs has vigorously supported the high-quality development of the Guangzhou airport economy and has helped accelerate the city toward becoming a world-class aviation hub in recent years.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic last year, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport handled 43.77 million passenger trips to become the busiest airport by passenger flow in the world.

Meanwhile the airport's cargo import and export value reached 280.93 billion yuan in 2020, up year-on-year by 21 percent and hitting a record high

GBA: first International Special Talent Zone to be built in Nansha

 Update:2021-02-19    Source: China Daily Global

The 1st International Special Talent Zone will be set up in Nansha District, Guangzhou, according to the 1st document issued by the provincial Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) recently.

[Photo: Nanfang Daily]

For top and urgently-needed talents,preferential policies and special incentives will be implemented as a pilot plan to deepen the reform of global talent management. World-class institutions, international science and technology organizations, and laboratories are welcomed to open their branch offices or co-labs in Nansha.

The development objectives of the International Special Talent Zone under the newly released document are:

1. by 2025, the establishment of the 1st International Special Talent Zone (ISTZ) as a development underpinning within the Greater Bay Area will show noticeable results. A talent development mechanism with openness and innovation will be essentially formed.

2. by 2035, the building of a globally influential ISTZ will be complete. It will support high-level opening-up of Nansha as a major gateway and attract talented personnel around the world to GBA.

To facilitate cross-border travels for inbound talent,Nansha will establish port visa agencies and optimize the living, working and travelling policies for foreign experts and professionals.

Over the past two years, Nansha has achieved high-quality economic development with its GDP growth rates consecutively tops other districts in Guangzhou.

February 18th marked the two-year anniversary of issuing the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in which the goal of establishing GBA as an international first-class bay area for living, working and travelling was made.

Foreign businesses bullish on China's future

 Update:2021-03-01    Source: chinadaily.com.cn

Harley Seyedin, president of AmCham South China (third from right), said China is still the top destination for foreign investment around the world, as foreign companies are optimistic on the 2021 business outlook in the country. [Zheng Caixiong/China Daily]

Despite tensions in the China-US relationship and the coronvirus pandemic last year, 94 percent of American companies surveyed see bright prospects in the Chinese market for 2021, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in South China on Friday.

None of the companies surveyed showed a willingness to leave the country. The research was reported in the 2021 White Paper on the Business Environment in China and the 2021 Special Report on the State of Business in South China.

Harley Seyedin, president of AmCham South China, said China remains the top destination for foreign investment worldwide. Many companies believe they will see an improvement in Sino-US relations this year, he said.

"There is a general consensus within the business community that the Biden administration will view the Sino-US relationship through a different looking glass," he said. "And I predict a rather long honeymoon period within which the two sides will have an opportunity to examine their differences, evaluate what is important to each side and begin friendly and mutually respectful dialogue."

Seyedin said he expects the US and China to hit a reset button and very likely open a new era of cooperation that will benefit not just themselves but the entire globe.

"While a combination of factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, severely impacted the global economy last year, only a slight decrease in actual investment in China was realized," said Seyedin at a news conference in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Friday.

"Factors including huge market potential, preferential policies and uncertainties of the pandemic in other countries and regions have whetted companies' interest to increase their investment in China, or shift investment to China," he said.

Seventy-three percent of the American companies surveyed and 70 percent of the Chinese ones plan to reinvest in China this year, while 57 percent of participants from the European Union and others have reinvestment plans, Seyedin said.

The vast majority of companies surveyed have expansion plans in China over the next three years, he said.

Guangzhou has been voted the most preferred destination for foreign investment in China in four consecutive years, Seyedin said.

The southern metropolis is followed by Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, while other cities, including Dongguan, Chengdu and Zhuhai, are also attracting investors' interest, he added.

Guangzhou welcomes $47b in new foreign investment

 Update:2021-03-04    Source: eguangzhou.gov.cn

Matthew Price, president of Greater China at P&G. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A series of events including a symposium on cooperation between Guangdong province and transnational companies during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period and a signing ceremony for strategic cooperation framework agreements were held in Guangzhou on March 2.

A total of 37 cooperation intention agreements with an overall investment of more than 300 billion yuan ($46.37 billion) were signed between Guangdong province and transnational companies during the ceremony.

Ten of these agreements, with a total investment of around 44.1 billion yuan, were related to Guangzhou, covering areas spanning modern agriculture, high technologies and retail business.

Foreign investment has been an important driver of Guangzhou's economic development for years and the city saw an annual growth rate of 5.6 percent during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

Foreign-invested companies have contributed to more than 50 percent of Guangzhou's output value of industrial companies with an annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3.09 million) in 2020, as well as 37 percent of the city's total import and export volume over the year.

The city's actual use of foreign capital in 2020 expanded by 7.5 percent year-on-year to 49.37 billion yuan.

The city has set its sights on building a distribution center for global resources, striving to become the first choice for global companies and talents seeking development opportunities.

"The mutually beneficial relationship between the Guangzhou government and companies has been attractive for global investors," said Matthew Price, president of Greater China at Procter & Gamble Co.

"From my point of view, Guangzhou's business environment can be ranked among the world's first class," added Price.

P&G was one of the first Fortune Global 500 companies to invest in Guangzhou. It set up its first Chinese joint venture company in Guangzhou in 1988 and put its first Chinese production base in Huangpu district in 1990.

Guangzhou Port’s cargo throughput ranks 4th in the world

 Update:2021-03-08    Source: Newsgd.com

According to Nansha district’s report, the cargo throughput of Guangzhou Port reached 636 million tons in 2020, ranking it fourth in the world. And 490 million tons of the volume went to domestic trade, which makes it top in China.

Guangzhou Port has handled 3.01 billion tons of cargo from 2015 to 2020 and its container throughput reached 108 million twenty-foot equivalent (TEUs) during this period. Compared to 2011 to 2015 which is known as China’s twelfth five-year plan period, the growth rates are 25.8 percent and 36.7 percent respectively.

Guangzhou Port has opened 226 container routes. It is the biggest container port for domestic trade in China and an important port connecting with Africa, the Mediterranean and other Asian countries.

Guangzhou Port also adopted a new model to facilitate the freight transport among the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Now the model covers 10 ports of the Greater Bay Area including Zhongshan’s Xiaolan Port and Foshan Port.

Nansha district is also improving its service for cross border e-commerce. Its overall customs clearance time for import and export has been compressed to 14.85 hours and 1.7 hours respectively.

It’s expected that Guangzhou Port’s cargo throughput will reach 680 million tons and its container throughput will reach 28 million TEUs during the fourteenth five-year plan period (2021-2025). The Port also plans to increase its container routes to 260 during this period.

GZ airport ranked among world’s best for customer experience

 Update:2021-03-08    Source: Newsgd.com

Recently, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport was recognized as one of the world’s best airports in terms of customer experience, according to the 2020 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey conducted by the Airport Council International (ACI).

[Photo: Nanfang Daily]

With a top-notch service and a throughput of over 40 million passengers per year, Baiyun airport successfully stands out among 348 airports worldwide going after the ASQ award. That speaks volumes for the airport’s commitment to continuously improving the passenger’s experience.

Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, the flight on-schedule rate of Guangzhou airport reached 91.57% in 2020, listed in the top 3 at home for three years in a row. And the flight punctuality rate also ranked among the top in China.

[Photo: Nanfang Daily]

The airport boasts the largest number of self-service facilities with the widest coverage to help passengers get their boarding pass and check in their luggage as fast and conveniently as they want. There are 263 self-service check-in machines, 102 for baggage drop, 199 for boarding and 75 exit and entry channels.

[Photo: Nanfang Daily]

[Photo: Nanfang Daily]

Last year, it first rolled out the ‘OneID’ service for which the passengers can get on board the plane just by scanning their face. Other high-tech additions such as LED screens and E-security check are also put in place to allow passengers to have a more pleasant journey.

The airport operation efficiency has been enhanced across the board after upgrading the A-CDM 4.0 system, overcoming the technological difficulties of the OMMS and ORMS systems and giving full play to the integrated function of the ACO platform.

[Photo: Nanfang Daily]

ACI's Airport Service Quality (ASQ) is a world-renowned and globally established global benchmarking program measuring passengers’ satisfaction whilst they are travelling through an airport.

The Airport Service Quality awards highlight the world’s best airports as judged by their customers and represents the highest possible accolades for airport operators.

Established in 1991, ACI is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports. It offers numerous training opportunities, a customer service benchmarking program, detailed industry statistical analyses and practical publications.

Guangzhou’s Nansha invests 626bn yuan to boost development

 Update:2021-03-10    Source: Newsgd.com

Nansha, a district located in the south of Guangzhou, invested in 202 projects to boost area development, according to Nansha Development and Reform Bureau on March 8.

These projects cover four major fields including infrastructure, modern industries, public service and urban regeneration. The annual investment and total investment are expected to exceed 92 billion yuan and 626 billion yuan respectively.

To improve the district’s business and living environment, Nansha invested in 59 infrastructure projects to optimize its transport networks, building more high-speed train lines, metro lines, expressways and bridges. The projects also include hospitals, public service centers, an international secondary school and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou).

In addition, the district highlighted 112 projects where it invested more than 175 billion yuan in total to boost the development of high-technologies, advanced manufacturing and financial services. These projects include the industrial base of CAS Space Exploration which features the functions of rocket research & development, manufacturing and testing. It’s anticipated that the base will be capable to produce 30 rockets per year once completed.

Infographics | Highlights of Guangzhou-Hong Kong Smart Manufacturing Cooperation Zone Implementation Plan

 Update:2021-03-11    Source: Newsgd.com

Guangdong has recently released the implementation plan for Guangzhou-Hong Kong Smart Manufacturing Cooperation Zone.

Covering a total area of 56.39 square kilometers, the zone will deepen industrial cooperation between Guangzhou Development District and Hong Kong while advancing the intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry.

The Greater Bay Area embraces new round of foreign investment amid new five-year plan

 Update:2021-03-15    Source: Xinhuanet.com

The Fortune 500 company P&G has planned to launch an intelligent technology innovation center this year in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, another move of expanding the investment in the country after setting up a digital innovation center in 2017.

"The digital innovation center was established just within four months in Guangzhou. Since then, the center has invested 100 million U.S. dollars in strengthening innovation in big data, artificial intelligence and other areas," said Matthew Price, president of P&G Greater China in an interview with Xinhua.

"Our business achievements over the years have fully proved that P&G's choice of long-term investment and development in Guangzhou is a very correct decision," Price noted.

P&G is just the epitome of global leading companies ramping up investment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and beyond in recent years.

As China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) kicks off, investors from all over the world reckon that China's strong growth prospects, the promise of further opening-up and improvement of the business environment are attracting them to increase investment in the world's most populous market.

EXPANDING INVESTMENT

P&G, one of the first Fortune 500 companies to invest in Guangzhou, established its first joint venture and production base in 1988, which was put into production two years later.

Following more than three decades of development, China has become P&G's second-largest market in the world after the United States and P&G's largest e-commerce market.

"About 10 percent of our business in the United States is done through e-commerce, while the number in China is 45 percent," said Price. "The innovation in big data and artificial intelligence will help us better serve the consumers in the Internet era."

Like P&G, a growing number of foreign companies are now beginning to set up R&D and innovation centers in the Greater Bay Area.

In January, NCS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fortune 500 company SingTel Group, launched NEXT Shenzhen Innovation Centre (SIC), its first innovation center in China. Siemens Energy also launched an innovation center for advanced energy technologies in Shenzhen in January.

"The new innovation center in Shenzhen is another lighthouse project to promote the China-EU green partnership and digital partnership," said Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy AG, adding that "this will bring us closer to the most dynamic energy market and, together with Chinese partners, create technologies and innovations that have an industrial and social impact."

Meanwhile, since the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was released in February 2019, more and more multinationals have moved their headquarters or regional centers to this more inter-connected area.

In January, New World Development Co., Ltd., one of the largest real estate developers in Hong Kong, signed a cooperation agreement with the Guangzhou municipal government to settle the headquarters of New World China, its flagship property arm, in the city, marking the company's new stage of layout in the Greater Bay Area.

AstraZeneca, a multinational pharmaceutical company, will also establish its south China headquarters in Guangzhou this year, with a focus on R&D, operation management and innovation incubation in the Area.

IMPROVING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, two major cities in the Greater Bay Area, are lauded by foreign firms for their efforts to foster an enabling business environment.

Huang Shaomei, executive director of New World Development Co., Ltd., said that the company decides to invest in Guangzhou due to its continuous improvement of the business environment.

"If you invest in the city back in 2013, approval of a real estate investment project involved 100 procedures and at least 799 working days. However, the time has been reduced to 50 days in 2018 and 35 days in 2019. And now, it only takes 11 days to get approved for low-risk industrial projects," Huang said.

According to a report on China's business environment in 2020 issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, Guangzhou was rated as a "benchmark city" in all the 18 assessment indicators and won the title of "best practice" in four indicators.

Growing foreign investment is the attestation of a city's notable business environment. With the first business license for foreign-invested enterprises issued in 1981, Shenzhen has approved 96,000 foreign direct investment projects in total, and its accumulated use of foreign capital has reached 120.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Early this year, two workstations were established in Shenzhen, aiming to provide foreign enterprises with services including business guidance, policy interpretation, investment consulting and complaint acceptance.

In addition, a plan for helping overseas professionals better work and live in Shenzhen was formally issued in January. According to the plan, foreign nationals engaged in finance, construction, cultural tourism, medical and health care and other 11 fields will enjoy more facilitations in the city.

"Shenzhen is on the way to build itself into a city with a more fair and internationalized business environment," said Guo Xiaohui, executive chairman of the Shenzhen Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment.

PROMISING GREATER BAY AREA

According to the outline of the new five-year plan, China will promote the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in an active and prudent manner.

While applauding the adoption of the plan, leaders of foreign enterprises said that the Chinese market remains appealing to global investors and the investment layout in the Greater Bay Area is just in line with their development prospects.

Leon Wang, executive vice president, international and China president with AstraZeneca, said the Guangzhou International Bio Island, where its south China headquarters is located at the core of the Area, is a highly innovative area. The setup of the headquarters is of great strategic significance in further expanding its market in the southern part of China.

Frances Yu, president of Amway China, also said that Amway will firmly seize the strategic opportunity of building a healthy China and leverage Amway's advantages to help develop the health industry in the Greater Bay Area and enhance the international competitiveness of the entire industrial cluster.

The southern region of China, especially the Greater Bay Area, is where most of the EU companies set foot in China. It is renowned for its highly developed and fully competitive business environment and transparency of government policies, according to George Lau, vice chairman of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

"As outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan, China pledges to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions, and achieve the peaking of carbon emissions by 2030, which will unleash opportunities for the EU companies with an advantage in the field of renewable energy," said Lau.

Also, a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China said that about 70 percent of surveyed American companies considered the Three-Year-Plan (2018-2020) for the development of the Greater Bay Area helpful.

"The Greater Bay Area is going to be a massive growth dynamic for the development in the southern region of China," said Harley Seyedin, president of the chamber.

Guangzhou sees increased China-Europe freight train numbers in the first two months

 Update:2021-03-19    Source: Newsgd.com

Main indicators such as the number and cargo value of China-Europe freight trains departing via Guangzhou have increased over 20% year-on-year in the first two months of 2021, according to Guangzhou Customs.

(File Photo)

As of February 28, the China-Europe freight trains from Guangzhou have made 16 export trips with 1,598 Twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs), increased by 3 times and 3.7 times, respectively.

About 90% of the exporting products were from the enterprises in the Greater Bay Area in 2020. Most of them are printers, LED products and mobile communication equipment.

Now Guangzhou is operating with 6 international railways, with cargo exporting to over 10 countries including Uzbekistan, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Germany and France.

Infographics | Highlights of Nansha International Special Talent Zone Implementation Plan

 Update:2021-03-19    Source: Newsgd.com

Guangdong has recently issued the implementation plan for the building of the first international special talent zone in Nansha.

International Talent Port [Photo: Liu Wei]

The implementation plan enables Nansha to be a home to overseas professionals, experts, and urgently-needed talents, which will provide a strong underpinning for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the future.

Greater Bay Area innovation incubation base open in Guangzhou

 Update:2021-03-30    Source: Newsgd.com

With an investment of over 700 million yuan, a 66,500 m² Greater Bay Area Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base was opened in Guangzhou on March 29. It will serve as a platform with functions of training, exchange and incubation for Hong Kong, Macao youths.

(Photo / Guangzhou Daily)

The incubation base is co-established by the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong and the government of Tianhe District, Guangzhou. It has attracted a first batch of 51 projects covering AI, new generation of information technology, new materials, new energy and other cutting-edge scientific sectors.

Equipped with facilities such as a roadshow hall, conference center and book bar, the base provides thoughtful services for entrepreneurs. It also sets up a product experimentation area with equipment for product design, 3D printing, precision measurement and so on.

"The experimentation area is very attractive, since we will use 3D printing devices frequently when making action figures," said Lliu Qiuyue, the chairman and general manager of Very Cool Model (Hong Kong) Limited. With design professionals and branding in Hong Kong, now they want to explore the Chinese mainland market after integrating the resources in the Greater Bay Area.

(Photo / Guangzhou Daily)

Currently, the base has begun the recruitment process for the second batch of projects and has received 69 applications, with almost 70% are estimated to be operated by Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurs.

Innovative practices set examples for rest of the country to benefit from

 Update:2021-03-30    Source: Newsgd.com

Photo: Nanfang Daily

Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, is revving up efforts to create an open, fair and world-class business environment that supports the city's sustained high-quality development, local officials said.

On March 3, the General Office of the State Council issued a list of innovative measures that optimize the business environment. The new innovative measures totaled 15 items.

Four of Guangzhou's practices were selected as national innovation measures, making the city a champion with the most innovative initiatives selected.

The four measures consist of using blockchain technology to improve bidding efficiency, promoting smart customs clearance, implementing "diversion of complicated and simple, fast and slow lanes" in bankruptcy cases and achieving in-depth application of electronic licenses.

In October, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the China Business Environment Report 2020. Among the 18 indicators involved in assessment, Guangzhou was rated as a benchmark city.

In addition, Guangzhou was selected as the "best practice" for the four indicators of "access to electricity," "cross-border trade,""bankruptcy," and "market supervision". The "land-use list system" was also selected as a "one province, one case" reform collection.

The China Business Environment Report 2020 was China's first national report that assessed the country's business environment.

Guangzhou's benchmarking award is an impressive recognition and affirmation of the city's high-quality business environment.

Guangzhou has made optimizing its business environment a top priority. It has implemented a group of reforms on administrative approval and governance.

New World Development, headquartered in Hong Kong, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Guangzhou government on Jan 13 to officially establish the headquarters of New World China in Guangzhou.

"I definitely feel the conveniences brought about by the reform of Guangzhou's business environment," said Huang Shaomei, executive director of New World Development and director and CEO of New World China Land. "For example, the issue of 'handling building permits' is recognized as the most difficult item in the World Bank's evaluation indicators."

"Now, the entire process from acquiring land to registering property rights for simple low-risk industrial projects only requires 11 work days," she said.

A senior official of Guangzhou said the city will focus on solving the pain points and difficulties of market entities by establishing a long-term mechanism for reducing costs and burdens for enterprises.

He added that Guangzhou aims to create a stable, fair and transparent business environment, deepen the reform in the use and protection of intellectual property rights and accelerate the construction of a high-standard market supervision system.

"We also must construct a digital government and set up service brands to realize the 'one network and co-governance' of urban management and social governance," the official said.

Aerospace project worth more than 10 billion yuan settled in Guangzhou’s Nansha

 Update:2021-03-31    Source: Newsgd.com

The Nansha sub-forum of Guangzhou Annual Investment Conference was held on March 30, during which the district saw a total investment of 264.8 billion yuan inked in various fields of advanced manufacturing, logistics, headquarter economies, financial services and infrastructure.

[Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

These projects include the aerospace business headquarters of Geely Technology Group Co., Ltd. The headquarters will run the aerospace-related subsidiaries, and its output is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan.

With the industrial base of CAS Space Exploration settled in Nansha previously, the district aims to formulate a ‘rocket+ satellite + application’ and boost the development aerospace industry. Geely’s aerospace business headquarters is also anticipated to attract more related companies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Greater Bay Area.

Earlier on March 8, the industrial base of CAS Space Exploration officially broke ground in Nansha. The project will feature such functions as rocket research & development, manufacturing and testing. It’s anticipated that the base will be capable of producing 30 rockets per year once completed.

Geely Technology Group Co., Ltd and Nansha district will continue to cooperate and accelerate technological investment and build Nansha into the first commercial aerospace center in China-ASEAN.

Sino-Italian collaboration promotes sustainable development in Guangzhou

 Update:2021-04-16    Source: Newsgd.com

On April 15th, an event entitled "Italian Research Day: Sino-Italian Collaboration toward a Greener Future" was successfully held in Guangzhou, aiming to underline the importance of global sustainability.

(Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Experts and enterprise representatives from both China and Italy attended the event to share the development and scientific payoffs in the fields of green economy as well as green science and technology. Roberto Donà, Professor in Xi'An Jiaotong Liverpool University, Margot Song, Chairman of the SGIUR Program, and Guylaine Mayuba, Sales Operations Manager of Magniflex delivered themed speeches to share their views on green economy and global sustainability.

Meanwhile, a roundtable discussion was held, where professionals and practitioners shared information on the development and projects, and explored opportunities for cooperation in green economy and green technology between Guangzhou, China and Italy. The roundtable discussion was moderated by Denis Bastieri, East Asia representative of SMACT Competence Center and a professor in the University of Padua.

(Photo: Guangzhou International Cooperation Center)

During the event, Guangzhou International Cooperation Center worked with organizations and companies that have advanced technologies in sustainable and green development to display environmentally-friendly materials and cutting-edge products in the fields of air purification, wastewater treatment, food storage and bioplastics.

The event was co-hosted by Guangzhou International Cooperation Center, Consulate General of the Republic of Italy in Guangzhou, and SMACT Competence Center, and was attended by representatives and professionals from the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government, Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, and Guangzhou Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation.

(Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

The Italian Research Day is held every year on April 15th, the anniversary of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, to honor the research achievements and contribution of Italian researchers and scientists. It is organized by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Ministry of Health. This was the first time for Guangzhou International Cooperation Center and the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou to join hands in holding this event to promote the idea of green development.

Last month, the official website of the United Nations recently released Guangzhou's Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) which discloses the city's measures to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is the first time the website has released VLR from a Chinese city. In the report, Guangzhou shares its experience to achieve SDGs including quality education, clean water and sanitation, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, and life on land through its report.

Foreign envoys in Guangzhou participate in world UHD video conference

 Update:2021-05-12    Source: eguangzhou.gov.cn

The opening ceremony of the 2021 World UHD Video Industrial Conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2021 World UHD Video Industrial Conference (WUVIC) took place in Guangzhou from May 8 to 10, bringing together nearly 1,500 guests.

The conference was jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Radio and Television Administration, China Media Group and the People's Government of Guangdong Province.

Several consul generals and representatives from consulates general of foreign countries in Guangzhou pose for a group photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Twelve consul generals and representatives from 11 consulates general of foreign countries in Guangzhou, including Mexico, Zambia, Cuba, Panama, Venezuela, the United States, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, attended the event, along with Zhan Decun, director of the foreign affairs office of the Guangzhou municipal government.

A series of events including forums, matchmaking fairs and project road shows were held during the event, along with a product and technology trade fair, e-sports competitions and 8K films screenings.