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.

Infographics | Greater Bay Area's GDP hits 11.5 trillion yuan

 Update:2021-05-19    Source: Newsgd.com

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) consists of the Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and nine cities in Guangdong (namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing) with a total area of 56,000 square kilometers.

With less than 0.6% of China's area, the GBA contributes 12% of the country's GDP. By the end of 2020, the total economic volume of the GBA had reached 11.5 trillion yuan. In detail, the GDP of nine cities in Guangdong is about 9 trillion yuan, and the GDP of Hong Kong and Macao is about 2.7 trillion Hong Kong dollars, and 194.4 billion Macao patacas, respectively.

Guangzhou's GDP to reach 3.5 trillion RMB in 2025

 Update:2021-05-21    Source: Newsgd.com

Guangzhou released its 14th Five-Year Plan and development vision for 2035 on May 19th, highlighting the city's main economic and social goals for 2021-2025. It is aiming for an annual economic growth rate of about 6 percent for 2021-2025 and boosting its GDP to 3.5 trillion RMB (about 0.54 trillion USD) in 2025.

(Photo / Nanfang Daily)

According to the plan, Guangzhou will develop into a city with new vitality by 2025, and eight specific goals for (2021-2025) are put forward on economy, they will include, among others: innovation, environment and people's livelihood.

For instance, residents will enjoy basically the same income growth as economic growth, and the life expectancy will increase to 83 by 2025.

The city government expects that R&D spending will account for about 3.4% of the regional GDP, and the added value of strategic emerging industries will exceed 1.2 trillion RMB. It will also make progress on reform and opening-up, to develop into an international consumption center city and an international exchange center.

Aiming for a better ecological environment, the percentage of days with good air quality will reach 88% and the forest coverage rate will increase to 41.65% by 2025.

In addition, it is expected that the city’s function as an international comprehensive transportation hub will be enhanced within five years. In this period, the third phase expansion project of the Baiyun International Airport will be finished that will have three terminals to serve a 100 million passenger throughput in 2025.

Guangzhou remains top preferred reinvestment destination for four consecutive years: AmCham South China

 Update:2021-05-25    Source: Newsgd.com

Guangzhou has been selected as the top preferred reinvestment destination for four consecutive years, according to a special report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China) on May 24th.

(Photo / Nanfang Daily)

The bilingual 2021 Special Report on the State of Business in Guangzhou aggregates and quantitatively analyzes the experiences of the 115 companies that participated in the study.

According to the study, most companies ascribe their determination to establish a company in Guangzhou to the growth potential of the Guangzhou market, followed by the advantages of proximity to Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan region, and better infrastructure than other places in China.

90% of companies have achieved profitability in Guangzhou, and most of the rest expected to become profitable with two years or less.

Dr. Harley Seyedin, President of AmCham South China, said, "Without a doubt that vaccines will accelerate the rebound in 2021. Faced with the difficulties brought on by COVID-19 in 2020, our member companies succeeded in growing and making profits with supportive policies and practical assistance from the Guangzhou government."

The study also shows Guangzhou has been stepping up efforts to optimize the business environment to create the best investment destination for global enterprises. Examples abound that Guangzhou has launched a series of policies and announced specific measures to stimulate market vitality and enhance trade facilitation.

The report shows that 78% of the surveyed companies report an overall positive return on investment in China. Approximately 70% of the companies plan to expand in Guangzhou in the next three years.

The primary factor that incentivizes companies to increase investment or shift investment to Guangzhou is the growth potential of the local market.