GE aims to foster emerging Biopharma market in Guangzhou

The story is provided from GE to China Daily

This week, business leaders from around the world are gathering in China to discuss key issues and opportunities facing multinational companies at the Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou.

Discussing the "innovation revolution" and emerging technologies that are a central focus of this year's forum, Rachel Duan, president and CEO of GE China, shared how General Electric has been innovating within the biopharmaceutical space - working together with the forum's host city of Guangzhou, which aspires to be China's leader in information, artificial intelligence and bio-tech industries.

In June, GE Healthcare and the Guangzhou Development District broke ground on the GE Bio-Campus, located in Guangzhou Knowledge City.

The Campus, which covers 350,000 square meters and has investment totaling 800 million yuan ($123.4 million), aims to support the large-scale manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, leveraging GE's expertise and technologies.

"The biopharmaceutical industry has become a strategic growth sector for GE and a key development area for Guangzhou," said Rachel Duan, who has been leading GE's fast-growing healthcare business in China for the past five years.

"With the GE Bio-Campus, GE and the Guangzhou government will be working together to build a new and thriving cluster for biopharma innovations in China."

Biopharmaceuticals, or biologics, are the world's fastest-growing class of medicines: of the top 10 therapeutics on the market today, eight are biopharmaceuticals, statistics from medical health research institute Evaluate Pharma showed.

Unlike synthetic drugs, they are the product of live organisms, and are targeting everything from diabetes and cancer to immune disorders, such as arthritis, GE said.

In China, biologics account for only around 14 percent of the medicines prescribed, compared to 32 percent in the US even though China's population represents 22 percent of the worldwide cancer incidence, which is the leading cause of death in the country, according to Evaluate Pharma and a report from BBC in 2014.

GE has identified this as a huge gap between demand and supply.

"GE saw an unmet need for faster, more turnkey and more flexible manufacturing capacity in markets all over the world, especially in response to the production shortage in growth economies," Duan said.

"Ultimately, we are building not just a campus, but an ecosystem to drive the whole biopharma value chain - providing total solutions for biopharma manufacturers starting from research and development and clinical trials through to pilot testing and large-scale manufacturing."

According to Duan, the GE Bio-Campus will help foster this ecosystem by design - through cutting edge-technological solutions, and innovative business models.

On the technology side, the Bio-Campus is planned to consist of several "KUBio" biopharma factories - a GE innovation that is essentially a factory-in-a-box - which will serve to manufacture biologics.

Meanwhile, a Fast Trak Bridge facility is the physical manifestation of a business model that gives customers access to industry expertise to accelerate the launch and manufacture of biologics.

The GE Fast Trak Bridge facility will be the first GE-owned component of the Bio-Campus, and is anticipated to be completed by 2019.

Bridge manufacturing services will encompass process and analytical development, process scale-up, and manufacture of drug substances for use in toxicology studies or Phase I and II clinical testing.

"GE's Fast Trak Centers are specifically designed to help biopharmaceutical manufacturers to increase their process productivity, reduce costs, and enable them to bring their product to market faster. They are equipped with the latest technologies for bioprocessing in an environment and at a scale that closely replicates the real-life industrial setting," Duan said.

Following the Fast Trak Bridge, GE will introduce several KUBio factories. These prefabricated facilities - based on single-use technologies designed for monoclonal antibody production - are constructed, assembled, fully fitted, and ready to run in 18 months.

GE created the KUBio concept to pave an easier route for biopharma companies - both large and small - to enter and grow within the biologic market, and help to bring affordable drugs to markets that have not previously had access to them.

As traditional factory setups typically take up to three years to design and build, GE designed KUBio to help reduce build costs by up to 50 percent compared to equivalent traditional facilities.

Today, two KUBios have been installed in China - for JHL in Wuhan and for Pfizer in Hangzhou - while the third, for BeiGene at the Guangzhou campus, is expected to be operational in 2019.

Beyond providing services and technologies for partner pharmaceutical companies at the Bio-Campus, GE hopes that the relationship with the Guangzhou government and biopharmaceutical partners will foster a more productive ecosystem for the entire biologics market in China and beyond.

"The Bio-Campus project is a great demonstration of the innovative Private-Public-Partnership model - capturing a huge market need while upgrading Guangzhou's industries," Duan said.

"And considering that most biopharmaceutical companies have a global customer base, it is anticipated that the biopharmaceuticals manufactured at the campus will serve patients throughout Asia."

A technician performs an inspection at the GE Healthcare Beijing plant.Photos Provided To China Daily

GE KUBio facilities help to manufacture biologics at the JHL factory in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province.

(China Daily 12/06/2017 page5)

Guangzhou's Industrial Upgrading Unleashes Innovation Potential

GUANGZHOU, China, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ -- For more than 2000 years, Guangzhou has been the trade center of southern China. Its prominent status in trade has earned it the reputation of "Millennia Business City". Since Chinaimplemented its policy of reform and opening up in 1978, Guangzhou has been right at the forefront.

Guangzhou, one of the most dynamic economic areas across the globe, has been the pioneer in opening up China to the world over the past 30 years. In 2016, the city's GDP reached about two trillion yuan ($294.4bn), equivalent to that of Singapore and neighboring Hong Kong.

With great importance attached to innovation, various enterprises in Guangzhou have remained competitive into the modern era along with the industrial upgrading that the city's shared.

Pearl River Piano Group, the world-renowned piano maker, is among many traditional enterprises that have weathered severe market competition in Guangzhou. Amid intense competition though, the company has stayed vigorous through continued innovation since its foundation in 1956, its spokesperson Yang Weihua said.

Now it has more than 25 per cent of the global market share of piano sales generated from some 100 countries and regions. Thanks to that, the company has been named the world's largest piano maker in 16 consecutive years. In May last year, it bought a 90 per cent shareholding in Schimmel, Germany's largest piano maker, in an attempt to enter the high-end piano market.

In recent years, Guangzhou has been encouraging enterprises in the traditional sectors to invest in upgrading technology, with an emphasis on smart manufacturing and robotics. In the vehicle manufacturing industry, the number of robots for welding and spraying used by auto makers such as Dongfeng Nissan, Guangqi Toyota and Guangqi Hondahas exceeded 400.

According to the Industry and Information Technology Commission of Guangzhou Municipality, besides automobile manufacturing, robotics and smart devices are being widely used in more than 10 industries, such as petrochemicals, electronics and furniture manufacturing. By the end of last year, about 600 enterprises in Guangzhou were using automated production lines.

Apart from technological upgrading, the city is gaining new momentum by earnestly fostering emerging strategic industries. According to the latest plan of the Guangzhou municipal government, the IAB scheme adopted by the city, aimed to shore up such emerging strategic industries as information technology, artificial intelligence and biopharmaceutical, is expected to enhance its attractiveness, creativity and competitiveness by creating industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions of output value.

In the electronic information manufacturing industry, the only new display cluster that generates hundreds of billions of output value has been born. Ten new display makers with 139.3 billion yuan ($20.5bn) worth altogether, including LG Display and Skyworth, have ranked the top 20 electronic information manufacturing enterprises in Guangzhou. With Foxconn's eco-industrial park for its 10.5-generation display settling down in the Zengcheng District, Guangzhou, in what has been the biggest single investment in advanced manufacturing since China's reform and opening-up policy, Guangzhou's new display manufacturing industry is embracing a fresh boost. The first phase of the project, worth 61 billion yuan ($8.97bn), was launched in March 2017, in a move that is expected to attract an influx of some 70 companies related to the Taiwanese multinational to Guangzhou. Upon its completion in June 2019, the project is forecast to generate an output value of 92 billion yuan ($13.5bn) in an effort to make Guangzhou a global hub of display technology.

SOURCE Guangzhou Municipal Government

For further information: Ms. Wu, Tel/Fax: +86-10-63075245

Scaling Up Cell Therapy Manufacturing in Guangzhou

In March 2019, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (XPH) will be ready to manufacture TCR T Cell therapies in Guangzhou, China. Continuing the country’s rapidly growing leadership in the cell therapy industry, XPH announced it will install a FlexFactory™ for cell therapy, a semi-automated end-to-end manufacturing platform, to help scale up, digitize and accelerate manufacturing processes for their cell therapy clinical trials and future commercialization.

This project marks the first-ever application of FlexFactory for cell immunotherapy drugs based on high-affinity and high-specificity T Cell receptors (TCR). XPH aims to deliver a breakthrough for cancer treatment with a new-generation TCR T Cell therapy, and has become one of the industry-leading companies to roll out related research for this application.

XPH signs strategic agreement with GE Healthcare for FlexFactory manufacturing platform in Guanzhou, China

Cell therapy is recognized as one of the most promising models for comprehensive and precise cancer treatment. But the manufacturing process is complex and it is a challenge for companies to produce cell therapies at industrial scale. Thus, FlexFactory for cell therapy was developed to help companies achieve stable, safe and scalable manufacturing of cell therapy products. The platform helps shorten the commercialization cycle through accelerated translation from scientific research to clinical trials to industrial-scale production. Along with the manufacturing platform, GE Healthcare Life Sciences will also provide XPH with training services, process development, flexible cell processing equipment and digital connectivity solutions.

With a high concentration of healthcare companies and medical resources, Guangzhou is currently implementing the IAB Plan to advance development in information technology, AI, and biotechnology industries. GE Healthcare and XPH are committed to creating a world-leading cell therapy manufacturing platform in the Guangzhou Development Zone. Thus, this close strategic partnership helps establish a new world-leading bioindustry ecosystem in Guangzhou.

To read the full press release, click here: GE Healthcare FlexFactory Helps XPH Scale Up Industrialization of TCR T-Cell Immunotherapy Drugs

GAC unveils auto plant using intelligent design

2018-December-26       Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

GAC New Energy Automobile Co's booth attracts many visitors during this year's Beijing auto show. [Photo provided to China Daily]

GAC New Energy Automobile Co unveiled its new intelligent and ecological plant on Sunday, in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, demonstrating the automaker's efforts and ambitions to take the lead in manufacturing new energy vehicles.

"We have introduced our 'Five New era', which refers to new technology, new intelligent manufacturing, new product, new ecology and new system, at the 2018 Guangzhou auto show. And this new intelligent and ecological plant elaborates what our new intelligent manufacturing is," said Gu Huinan, general manager of GAC New Energy Automobile Co at a news conference on Friday in Guangzhou.

Located in the Panyu district of Guangzhou city, the plant is designed to solely produce full-electric vehicles, with a total production capacity of 400,000 units per year.

The completed part is the first phase of the plant, which has an annual production capacity of 200,000 units, with a total investment of 4.7 billion yuan ($681.4 million), and covering 470,000 square meters, according to the automaker.

The new plant adopts a raft of cutting-edge technologies and equipment to achieve intelligent and environmentally friendly manufacturing.

"This plant has China's first flexible production line for assembling both steel bodywork and aluminum bodywork. Equipped with a precise positioning system and quick switching technology, the production line can switch between the steel body assembly process and the aluminum body assembly process in just one minute," said Xi Zhongmin, deputy general manager at GAC New Energy Automobile on Friday in the new plant.

Taking full use of GAC New Energy's cloud platform, the new plant can analyze and integrate global cloud data and relevant historical data to make independent decisions and come up with preventive maintenance measures, aiming to improve production efficiency and enhance quality control, according to the carmaker.

In addition, the new plant offers interactive customization services. Through the GAC New Energy application, customers can make orders, choose wheel hubs, colors and devices, inspect all the producing processes and even follow up the delivery information.

While taking full advantage of green power－solar and wind energy－the new plant has the capability of storing surplus power, which will alleviate the pressure of using electricity at times of maximum demand, according to Gu.

The new plant is scheduled to produce new models, some of which will be introduced at Shanghai Auto Show held next April, Gu noted.

Among the new models is the Aion S－the first model produced in the new plant－which will be the first all-electric sedan offering from Aion, a new product system exclusive to GAC New Energy. GAC New Energy Automobile Co was founded in July 2017, as part of its parent company－GAC Group's efforts to offer world-class intelligent mobility services.

By the end of this year, the sales volume of GAC New Energy will have exceeded 20,000 units, according to the automaker.

Editor: Will

iRobot to expand Guangzhou unit

2019-March-7       Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

Colin Angle, chairman, CEO and co-founder of iRobot, makes a speech during the annual industrial gala Robo Madness 2018 in Boston, United States. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

US-based firm eyes more growth opportunities from new Greater Bay Area plan

US-based consumer robot maker iRobot is planning to expand its research and development center in Guangzhou to tap opportunities arising from the recently unveiled Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area plan, according to a top company official.

"We are certainly aware of the Great Bay plan and certainly part of it now. We look forward to seeing this project develop. I think it will improve the education levels and attract more technology-minded employees to that area. That makes it easier for us to find talent," said Colin Angle, chairman, CEO and co-founder of iRobot.

In early 2018, iRobot established its R&D center in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, as one of its three global R&D centers. The other two are located in Bedford, which is the company's headquarters, and Pasadena, California.

"We think there's a great opportunity to do more," said Angle.

After establishing its technology foundation 29 years ago, the vacuum robot maker has introduced many new inventions to stay competitive in the robot industry.

Angle said Chinese robot companies are quite good, and China has made a focus on robots. "I think they have made a lot of progress in the last few years, and there are many China brands in the market today."

"There are more good companies that are pushing what is possible forward. So, our response is to invest more money in research and development ... We're the company that makes the largest R&D investment in home robots and we will increase that this year to ensure we stay ahead."

Last year, iRobot spent $140 million on research and development, which is about 13 percent of the company's 2018 revenue. The company's revenue crossed the $1 billion mark last year.

Quite a few companies, including traditional electric appliance makers like Haier and Midea, smartphone makers like Apple and Huawei, and internet companies like Amazon and Google, have stepped up the development of smart home products and applications.

However, despite the efforts made by various companies, the smart home market is still fragmented, according to Mintel China research.

"Take the top three categories with the highest homeownership in China, smart audio devices, smart air conditioners or smart fans, and sweeping robots, each of them has a comparatively low penetration among Chinese consumers," said Alina Ma, research director of Mintel China, a consultancy firm.

The smart home sector has a large and wide span across a broad range of industries, including property, furniture, hardware, telecommunications and home appliances. It contains lucrative opportunities, said Xiao Fei, an industrial analyst with research firm Analysys.

According to Xiao, China's smart home market surpassed 100 billion yuan ($14.9 billion) in 2017, and expanded to 150 billion yuan in 2018, and is set to reach 350 billion yuan by 2020.

Angle believes iRobot is now becoming more central for smart homes because their robots not only play an important role in providing utility services but also collate information on the house and the smart solutions it requires. "Our role in this ecosystem is becoming more important every day."

iRobot has a 65 percent share globally excluding China and is a global leader in the market for vacuum robots priced above $200.

"We see an opportunity to grow our market share in China, especially in the high-end segment. Our team in China has been working to optimize our market strategies," said Angle.

"China is the largest (market), but not for iRobot... We believe we're on the right growth path now. China will be our largest market."

According to data from market researcher and consulting company GfK, there were 4.31 million vacuum robots sold in China in 2018, and their total sales revenue was 6.47 billion yuan. GfK projected China's vacuum robots market to reach 5.16 million units, or 8.45 billion yuan, in 2019.

"Compared to Western consumers, the Chinese are more willing to accept intelligent home facilities, which will absolutely help the development of smart home in China," said Ma from Mintel.

Editor: Will

Furniture industry thrives in Guangdong

2019-March-20       Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

The 43rd China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) opened in Guangzhou on Monday. The fair serves as a major platform for sharing global market information and industrial development trends. It is also an ideal place for people to forge business relationships.

The 43rd CIFF is divided into two distinct events. The first event, set to run until March 21, focuses on home furnishings, including customized and smart furniture, decorations, and textiles. The second event, set to run from March 28 to 31, will display furnishings for offices and commercial spaces, as well as machines for making furniture and furniture-related raw materials.

Foreign buyers tour the exhibition hall on Monday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As one of China's leading furniture expos, this year's event has attracted over 4,300 exhibitors from home and abroad and occupies an area of more than 760,000 square meters.

"This year's fair has reached record highs not only in scale and number of exhibits, but also in the quality of planning," said Ye Jijiang, vice-president of the China Foreign Trade Center.

"There are more new product launches, more events related to furniture design, and exhibition halls are arranged better, making the event worthwhile for both exhibitors and visitors," he added.

Ye Jijiang, vice-president of the China Foreign Trade Center, delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As the event has attracted so many design professionals, Ye deemed it a designer haven. At least 60 designers are attending the event.

"CIFF has become China's largest one-stop platform for international trade, featuring a vast array of furniture-related products," noted Xu Xiangnan, president of the China National Furniture Association, adding that the fair has made great contributions to the nation's furniture and home-living industries, the application of new technology and new materials, development trends, design and innovation, and smart manufacturing. It has also improved the aesthetic tastes of the Chinese people.

Xu Xiangnan, president of the China National Furniture Association, addresses the opening ceremony of the 43rd CIFF. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Several exhibitors said that CIFF is an important industrial expo that cannot be missed.

They said that Guangdong's flourishing furniture industry has contributed to the continued success of CIFF, while in return, the fair has helped the furniture industry maintain its development momentum.

According to the latest statistics from the provincial furniture association, the province made 435 billion yuan ($64.81 billion) in furniture sales in 2018, up 3.1 percent from one year ago.

This figure represents about one third of the nation's total furniture industry, demonstrating Guangdong's unrivaled position as a leading furniture maker.

The province posted $19.37 billion in furniture exports in 2018, a drop of 2 percent from 2017.

Total furniture exports from Guangdong accounted for 36.1 percent of the nation's total in 2018, according to statistics.

Editor: Monica Liu

Zhuhai attracts more advanced-manufacturers

2016-October-8       Source: Newsgd.com

From top notch office equipment to aviation components, Zhuhai will soon see an additional 10.64 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) of investment in advanced equipment projects throughout the city.

This comes from 23 agreements signed at the Investment Environment Promotion Conference & Project Signing Ceremony held on Sept 29 at the 2nd Advanced Equipment Manufacturing Investment & Trade Symposium -- West of the Pearl River in Foshan’s Sino-European Service Center.The presence of Party Chief Guo Yuanqiang and Mayor Zheng Renhao signified the importance of the signing ceremony. Furthermore, Wang Qingli, a vice mayor, promoted the city while another vice mayor, He Yemin, presided over the activity. The Gaolan Port Economic Zone, and Jinwan and Doumen districts, which are primary bases for the equipment manufacturing industry, also presented briefings on their respective investment environments.

The 23 projects include a headquarters and high-end office equipment manufacturing base for Apex Technology to be located in Xiangzhou District; a Beijing building materials equipment production project in Jinwan District; precision equipment manufacturing project to settle in Doumen District; China Railway Construction Corp construction equipment manufacturing base and southern headquarters to be located in Hengqin New Area; AVIC International Holdings aviation criterion parts manufacturing and test base in the Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone; and an Epoxy Base Electronics Material Corp device support project in the Gaolan Port Economic Zone.

A core and leading area of the advanced equipment manufacturing industry belt on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary, Zhuhai boasts shipbuilding and marine engineering, aviation and aerospace, new-energy vehicle, high-end electronic and electrical, and intelligent manufacturing equipment industries along with upstream and downstream support chains, according to Wang.

Taking advantage of the promising next decade, Zhuhai will provide areas in which enterprises can operate and grow. Wang thus invited entrepreneurs to consider Zhuhai as an option for their new undertakings and he invited them to visit.

(cityofzhuhai)

Editor: Will

Matteo Secoli: Fashion is a common language between Italy and Guangdong

2016-November-10       Source: Newsgd.com

The Istituto Secoli 2016 fashion show collection is being held at the Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou from 4 November to 10 November. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Italy is home to the world’s many famous fashion brands and designers. A standout in the industry, Istituto Secoli has trained a great number of qualified personnel for the fashion industry of Italy and the world during its past 82 years of history.

On November 4, Istituto Secoli Fashion Show 2016 opened its doors in Guangzhou. Once again, Istituto Secoli presented the distinctive Italian charm to people in Guangdong after their brilliant performances in the Guangdong Fashion Week 2015 and 2016.

This time, Istituto Secoli shows a further determination to fit into Chinese market with its new campus opened at the Guangzhou Textile Exchange Park, a large industrial estate specializing in the fashion industry where more than 2,000 fashion companies have settled down.

How could Italian fashion ideas integrate into Guangdong culture? What cultural messages will Italian fashion industry represented by Istituto Secoli bring to people in Guangdong? Upon the new college’s opening, Matteo Secoli, Director of Istituto Secoli, shared his views on Guangdong’s fashion landscape with Newsgd.com.

Istituto Secoli Guangzhou at the Guangzhou Textile Exchange Park. [Photo/Istituto Secoli]

“The fashion atmosphere in Guangzhou is nice.”

In recent years, Guangdong leads the country in clothing output and export. In the first half of 2016, the sales volume of Guangdong’s clothing industry reached 180.384 billion RMB, up 4.3% on the previous year.

Home to more than 40,000 businesses and 5,000,000 people involved in the clothing field, Guangdong is considered as the leader of the Chinese textile and clothing industry.

“Guangzhou is a wonderful city. It is huge and international. And the culture changes very rapidly here.” Matteo Secoli added, “What’s more, it is at the heart of the industry in China. We’ve already had cooperation with some companies and producers here.”

Matteo spoke highly of the show as well as the fashion landscape in Guangzhou. “The Guangdong Fashion Week is really fantastic. It shows what fashion is here. It is of high level.”

Related News:

Secoli Fashion School of Milan opens new institute in Guangzhou

Istituto Secoli exhibits 2016 fashion collection in Guangzhou

Italian architecture shine at Guangzhou Library

2016 XVI World Italian Language Week to shine at Guangzhou

Istituto Secoli Guangzhou at the Guangzhou Textile Exchange Park. [Photo/Istituto Secoli]

“We are here to learn, to understand the culture.”

In the Guangdong Fashion Week 2016, Secoli Fashion Show brought down the house for its perfect combination between eastern and western culture. As the only foreign participator who chose domestic models, Istituto Secoli demonstrated that western designs could also fit with eastern temperament.

Matteo indicated, Istituto Secoli has been striving to conform themselves to the market and culture here. “What we do is not only to bring Italian culture here. First, we should try to understand what culture here is, even from the local professionals, and then we know how to bring our techniques to the area.”

“Fashion is a language.”

Language is not limited to books or words. Indeed, fashion is a form of language of communication between different cultures, between China and Italy, according to Matteo.

“I’m surprised that the amount of Italian students which are studying in China is bigger than that in America. In fact, Italy and China are useful to each other in many ways. We need more exchanges in culture and other fields,” Matteo stated.

When talking about his expectation of the new campus in Guangzhou, Matteo said, he hoped that they could develop it into an important part of the clothing system in China as it is now in Milan. They intended to help develop real professionals for the market here.

(By Abby & Monica)

NEV sector declares high ambitions at Auto Guangzhou

2016-November-21       Source: Xinhuanet.com

The Mercedes Concept EQ, a pure electric vehicle, makes its Asia debut at Auto Guangzhou 2016. CHEN JIANLI/XINHUA

Government urges industry to take lead in creating the cars of the future

Despite slowing growth and fading subsidies, carmakers are betting big on research and development in new energy vehicles, with ambitious plans and fresh concepts unveiled at Auto Guangzhou in the southern Chinese city.

The ongoing auto show opened to the public on Saturday. As the largest such event in southern China taking up 220,000 square meters of floorspace, it features an electric vehicle display of the latest charging facilities and batteries.

New energy products are on display, covering the varied sectors along the industrial chain, including charging station equipment, charging poles, battery modules and traction batteries.

"The new energy vehicle industry has made significant progress and achievements in R&D in critical technologies and key products," said Wan Gang, minister of science and technology, on Wednesday. "Overall development has reached the world's leading level."

Wan stressed that "to ensure the progressiveness of the technologies, a full plan should be made for the next step in the development of new energy vehicle technology, and it should focus on synergy and mutual support among the technologies."

Wan made these remarks at a symposium with the nation's experts in the new energy vehicles sector.

Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said the growth in the new energy vehicle market is slow and steady, and he expects annual sales of 500,000 units, despite the projection of 750,000 units made earlier this year.

"Growth slowed down from the extremely fast pace last year, but now development is more solid," Dong said. "There were many electric cars registered as delivered last December, but later were found to be carrying unreliable batteries, or even had no batteries."

Many electric vehicle makers were found to be cheating with used batteries made with out-of-date technologies, and in September regulators announced penalties for five new energy vehicle producers who illegally obtained government subsidies. Right after authorities cracked down on subsidy scams early this year, the country saw a drastic slowdown in new energy vehicle output and sales.

A total of 302,000 new energy vehicles, including full electric and hybrid electric vehicles, were produced and 289,000 were sold in the first nine months of this year, up 93 percent and 100.6 percent respectively year-on-year, according to figures from CAAM.

The data also showed more than 43,000 new energy vehicles were produced in September, up 25.7 percent, and sales increased 43.8 percent to 44,000 units.

The September growth rates were markedly lower than in August, when new energy vehicle output and sales soared 81.5 percent and 92.2 percent, respectively.

Blazing a new trail

China has been encouraging the use of new energy vehicles to upgrade the industry and ease pressure on the environment by offering tax exemptions and subsidies for car purchases and requiring government agencies to buy more new energy cars.

Chinese carmakers are heading toward the electric future with Geely Automobile, Chery Automobile and others, announcing their five- or 10-year plans for the development of electric vehicles.

Chang'an Automobile updated its five-year plan and made its specific targets public on the media preview day of Auto Guangzhou 2016. The carmaker is aiming at a driving range of 600 kilometers between charges for full electric vehicles, and a 1-liter comprehensive petrol consumption for plug-in hybrid vehicles, through mastering core competencies in five aspects of the sector.

The Chongqing-based carmaker launched the world's first mass produced 48V hybrid car, the Chang'an Eado Bluepower, as the first of its fleet of 24 new energy models it plans to make by 2025.

Wan encouraged domestic carmakers to persist in developing their own approaches that suit Chinese customers' demand and to master core competencies, especially the key technologies in fuel cell battery-powered vehicles.

"Development of new energy vehicle technology should ensure innovation and future orientation," he stressed.

During the motor show, major international auto manufacturers demonstrated their ambitions in the nation's fast-developing new energy vehicle sector.

Toyota's hydrogen fuel cellpowered Mirai was revealed in Guangzhou, as the company announced its boldest move yet into the sector, with a plan to found an electric vehicle subsidiary jointly with Aisin Seiki next month.

The second-largest auto brand in terms of sales volume, Volkswagen, announced its plans to introduce to the Chinese market a family of around 10 next generation e-cars based on Volkswagen's electric-only MEB platform in 2020-25.

The brand's ID zero-emissions concept car made its Asian debut at Auto Guangzhou.

The compact electric vehicle designed with the batteries set in the floor is said to be ideal transport for China's megacities.

The innovative e-car even features all the hardware needed for autonomous driving.

Editor: Chan

Zhuhai, Germany to jointly pioneer AI

2017-June-5       Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

Zhuhai 4D Age Technology, an artificial intelligence company based in Zhuhai, has agreed a major partnership with a world-leading German research institute to co-develop AI and advanced artificial visual technology.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the signing ceremony for the agreement between 4D Age and Deutsche Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) in Berlin on June 1.

The two organizations will work together to develop "eyes" and "brains" for robots and robotic arms, according to Cui Yan, president of 4D Age. "Our new products will combine micro 3-D with industry and manufacturing," said Cui.

According to the agreement, 4D Age and DFKI will primarily work together on sensible modeling construction technology using binocular cameras. The devices will be capable of constructing models and doing detection at the micrometer level, guiding robotic arms to do polishing, painting and shell-flatting.

Zhuhai 4D Age Technology signs a cooperation agreement with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence on June 1 in Berlin, witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L2) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R1). [Photo / Zhuhai Daily]

The technology is expected to support the development of industrial automation. Chinese electronics giant Gree Electric Appliances, which is based in Zhuhai, has partnered with the two organizations to test the technology.

4D Age has been developing a relationship with DFKI, recognized as one of the world's top AI research institutions, for some time. In 2016, 4D Age helped DFKI establish its first Asian AI branch in Zhuhai's Xiangzhou district.

The Zhuhai-based company has enjoyed a stratospheric rise since it was founded less than three years ago. Thanks to support from municipal and district governments, 4D Age has become one of China's most influential and fastest-developing companies in artificial intelligence and artificial vision.

Based on its self-developed 3-D reconstruction and digital virtual display technologies, the company has completed the development and manufacture of a dozen products, including 4Dart, fingertip art, fingertip music, industry, 4D land scene and intelligent emotional robots.

Li began his visit to Germany on May 31 and attended an annual bilateral meeting with Merkel. On June 1, the two leaders witnessed the signing of many agreements between Chinese and German enterprises in fields including aviation, new energy automobiles, intelligent manufacturing, finance and environmental protection. The artificial intelligence project was one of these agreements.

Editor: Jasmine

Guangzhou cross-border business booms

2017-July-5       Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

Guangzhou's foreign trade value of cross-border e-commerce totaled 8.56 billion yuan ($1.26 billion) over the first five months of the year, topping other cities in China, according to the latest report of Guangzhou municipal commission of commerce released on June 30.

South China's city of Guangzhou registered export and import trade value, both online and offline, at 425.81 billion yuan, increasing by 35 percent year on year, among which exports recorded 26.81 billion yuan, up 39.8 percent year on year, and imports increased by 27.6 percent to 15.77 billion yuan.

With the construction of Guangzhou's cross-border e-commerce pilot zone stepping up, the city achieved a rapid growth of its cross-border businesses, accounting for 35.1 percent of the country's total, the largest among its peers in China.

The city's cross-border e-commerce is developing at a rapid pace while being prospected to become the new economic hot spot, local media said.

Guangzhou residents browse through overseas products in local stores. [Photo by Ai Yu/ycwb.com]

The reports show that its value of exports make up for almost 60 percent of the country's total.

This year, the Guangzhou government has expanded its global exposure, attending various high-end international conferences and forums, including the World Economic Forum, China Development Forum and Boao Forum for Asia, as well as organized various roadshows to promote its business environment and urban development in 11 global cities.

The city's frequent presence of those conferences helps itself make remarkable achievements and succeed in attracting numerous investments and projects, according to Chen Jie, director of Guangzhou municipal commission of commerce.

The International Cross-border E-commerce Industry Exhibition (ICEE) and International Cross-border E-commerce Summit Forum (ICEF) will be held in Poly Exhibition Center, Guangzhou, from July 20 to 22.

Employees sort out packages in a supply chain company warehouse, based in Nansha district, Guangzhou. [Photo by Ling Hongxian/oeeee.com]

Editor: Will

New deal signed to promote Guangdong’s exhibition industry

2017-July-5       Source: Newsgd.com

A cooperation deal was signed Wednesday between China Foreign Trade Centre (CFRC), which is the organizer of Canton Fair, and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangdong Committee (CCPIT Guangodong Committee) to promote the development of Guangdong’s exhibition industry overseas.

The cooperation covers promotion of Canton Fair, market research, information sharing and law service.

A cooperation deal was signed between China Foreign Trade Centre (CFRC) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangdong Committee (CCPIT Guangodong Committee).（Photo provided by CCPIT Guangdong Committe）

According to Lin Tao, President of CCPIT Guangdong Committee, both sides will work together to build a new cooperation system and upgrade cooperation level so as to achieve “leapfrog development”.

Lin Tao, President of the CCPIT Guangdong Committee, delivered a speech.（Photo provided by CCPIT Guangdong Committe）

“The cooperation between CCPIT Guangdong Committee on the basis of mutual benefit can bring together resources and strengths of both sides so as to realize innovative development,” said Li Jinqi, Director General of CFRC. “It will be also a boost to the international competitiveness of China’s exhibition industry.”

Li Jinqi, Director General of CFRC, delivered a speech.（Photo provided by CCPIT Guangdong Committe）

Editor: 陈锦霞

World-class respiratory disease center to boost bio-industry in Guangdong

2017-July-10       Source: Newsgd.com

Aiming at building a world-class center for curing stubborn respiratory disease, critical disease and talent training center, the construction of Guangzhou Respiratory Disease Center was started at Datansha, Liwan district on July 7.

Run by the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, the construction of Guangzhou Respiratory Disease Center is expected to be finished in 2019.

Design diagram of Guangzhou Respiratory Disease Center. (Source: State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease)

“Guangzhou Respiratory Disease Center aims to become one of the top centers on curing and studying respiratory diseases in the next five years,” said Prof. Zhong Nanshan, Director of National Clinical Research Center of Respiratory Disease. “The construction of Guangzhou Disease Respiratory Center will boost the development of bio-industry in Guangdong.”

Prof. Zhong Nansha deliver a speech. (Source:State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease)

Prof. Zhong has long advocated the construction of a specialized treatment center and training base for respiratory disease.

Related story:

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It is introduced that the overall floorage of Guangzhou Disease Respiratory Center is about 194 thousand square meters. The center will be divided in two parts; one is for teaching and scientific research, and the other is healthcare zone. A total of 1200 hospital beds will be provided.

Respiratory department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University has been occupying the first place on the table of “the best Chinese Medical Departments” released by Fudan University from 2009 to 2016(The ranking of 2017 has not been declared yet).

Furthermore, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University lists top 50 on the table of Chinese health sector for high-quality scientific output, which has been released by Nature Index this year.

Written by Steven

Editor: Steven

Hollywood big shots tell Guangzhou's story

2017-September-7       Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

A group of eight Hollywood filmmakers, including Michael Uslan, executive producer of the Batman series, and Christopher Edwards, founder and CEO of the famous Hollywood visual effects company Third Floor, visited Guangzhou on Sept 3.

The group was invited to the city for a special Belt and Road-themed activity to promote cultural exchanges between the Chinese and American film industries.

Michael Uslan, executive producer of the Batman series records his impression and expectations for Guangzhou in a special post office in Huacheng Square on Sept 4. [Photo/ycwb.com]

During their trip to Guangzhou, the group visited some of Guangzhou's iconic scenic spots, including the Canton Tower and Guangzhou Library. They were also invited to record their impressions and expectations for Guangzhou at a special post office in Huacheng Square.

"A good movie needs to have a good story, an interesting plot and great settings, and that's why Gotham City in the Batman movies is now a household name," said Michael Uslan. "For Guangzhou, the city must be in an interesting story, and only by creating works based on the city's distinctive features can filmmakers offer artistic vitality to their works and the city."

Edwards said that young filmmakers in China are ambitious and have many new ideas. He and his team are thinking about cooperating with them and making a change in the movie industry in the following five to 10 years.

W

Famous Hollywood scriptwriters, directors and producers are interviewed in Guangzhou on Sept 4. [Photo/cnr.cn]

Famous Hollywood scriptwriters, directors and producers pose for a group photo at Canton Tower. [Photo/cnr.cn]

Guangdong to announce paired measures to boost innovation industry

2018-January-30       Source: Newsgd.com

The Layout of Guangzhou-Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Corridor.(Source: Newsgd.com)

Guangdong has been studying paired measures to boost Guangzhou-Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, with an aim to attract high-level talents and support innovative enterprises, revealed Wang Ruijun, head of Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province.

Wang made the speech when attending the second press conference at the first plenary session of the 13th Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress.

Wang illustrated that the province has been considering to carry out a special action plan to spur joint innovation on science and technology in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The action plan will include measures on cross-border capitals, taxation balance, talents cultivation and flows, imported duties on R&D equipments, Internet information services and so on.

Wang also promote the cultivation projects to technology-based SMEs and advanced-technology-service enterprises in Guangdong . Qualified enterprises can enjoy extra preferential tax policies.

Recently, a plan for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Corridor was issued to establish a 180-km long economic belt crossing Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. It is hoped that it will become China’s Silicon Valley.

The plan has three-step development goals for the corridor, to lead technological innovation capacity in China by 2020, to become a science & technology innovation center with global influence by 2030 and to become a world-class science & technology innovation center by 2050.

In recent years Guangdong has tried their best to spur innovation-driven development in the province and made many progress in this field. According to a latest report issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Guangdong’s capacity of innovation topped in the nation, with excellent performances in enterprise innovation and innovation environment.

Reported by Nan Hu

Edited by Wing Zhang

Nansha appeals to global AI companies

2018-March-29       Source: Newsgd.com

Yesterday on March 28th, the Management Committee of Nansha Free Trade Zone (FTZ) held an AI themed sub-forum at the 2018 Guangzhou Annual Investment Conference, aiming to highlight the district’s opportunities and achievements in building itself as an AI industrial cluster.

The sub-forum was overwhelmingly crowded as it attracted a large number of representatives from world’s leading enterprises, such as, Huawei, iFlytek and Pony.ai, and overseas attendants from foreign consulates in Guangzhou and foreign chambers of commerce.

Cai Chaolin, standing member of the CPC Guangzhou Committee and Party Chief of Nansha district, gives a speech during Nansha’s sub-forum. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Cai Chaolin, standing member of the CPC Guangzhou Committee and Party Chief of Nansha district, introduced that Nansha is a promising place for development as it’s located at the center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area which is the most dynamic economy around the world.

“Being a FTZ and a state-level new area, Nansha is supported by a wide range of profitable policies in China,” said Cai Chaolin, “in the future, we will devote to Guangzhou as well as Guangdong’s economic restructuring, scientific innovation, reform and openness and better governance.”

Zeng Jinze, Executive Chief of Nansha, added the district started building an AI industrial cluster in 2017, and by far has gained profound achievement. “We have established four high-end R&D platforms and attracted 32 AI enterprises. World’s top AI scientists including Yang Zhiyuan, Yao Qizhi, Zhou Xi and Wei Si have also joined our development,” he said.

 

Nansha’s AI forum attracts a large number of overseas attendants. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Meanwhile, KOLs in the AI industry gave insights into how they are operating businesses in Nansha. Wu Junhua from iFlytek, a leading language input software provider, said the company launched an AI institute in Nansha earlier this year, which would not only bring in its top technologies but a large amount of related talents.

“Our chief scientist, Wei Si, is the dean of our AI institute. He will cooperate with local universities and help foster talents for the industry,” said Wu Junhua, “we also utilize the strength of the Greater Bay Area and hire outstanding candidates from Hong Kong and Macao. We just finished the first round of recruitment in Hong Kong this mouth.”

Hu Wen, COO of Pony.ai, a world’s leading self-driving car company, said the company has settled in Nansha for only 5 months but it has already completed a large amount of trial rides. “Next we will cooperate with Nansha government and develop an autonomous ride-sharing fleet to serve the public in Mingzhu Bay Area. This plan could be realized in 2 to 3 years,” said Hu Wen.

When asked about the most impressive thing in Nansha, Hu Wen said he was amazed by the efficiency of its business registration process. “It took us less than one month from negotiation to receiving our business license here,” he said.

A signing ceremony is held during Nansha’s sub-forum. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

During the forum, a batch of cooperative agreements was signed between Nansha and industrial giants including China Resources Group and China Railway Transportation Logistics. These agreements cover a wide range of areas, such as Headquarter economy, logistics and innovation with a total investment of over 30 billion yuan.

In addition, Nansha also signed a number of MoUs with overseas enterprises, such as, Ernst & Young, KPMG Advisory and CNBC, aiming to better the district’s business environment and further promote the district on the global stage.

Reported by Jasmine Yin

Edited by Wing Zhang