Hong Kong: 11 scientists selected as academician candidates

Eleven Hong Kong scientists have been selected this year as qualified academician candidates of the nation’s top scientific agencies — the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Ten of the scientists were among the CAS’ eligible candidates, including Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, president of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences; and Yang Tong, chair professor of the Mathematical Science Department at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Additionally, Yu Jun from the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Department of Medicine and Therapeutics was the sole Hong Kong scientist chosen as a valid candidate for the CAE.

This year saw a higher representation of Hong Kong scientists across a wider range of disciplines in the academician selection process.

Macao: Institute of space tech and applications inaugurated

A new institute aimed at exploring space technology and applications was inaugurated in the Macao Special Administrative Region on Sept 1.

The new platform was initiated by the Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation. The institute’s director, Zhang Keke, who is also a chair professor of the university, said the institute will further advance on-orbit testing, scientific research, and industrial applications of the Macau Science 1 satellite, which was launched on May 21. The platform will also contribute to the city’s high-quality development in the aerospace field, Zhang said.

Guangzhou: Per capita GDP grows for 10th consecutive year 

Guangzhou has achieved a remarkable feat with 10 consecutive years of economic growth, as gross domestic product per capita rose from 95,550 yuan ($13,080) in 2012 to 150,366 yuan in 2021.

According to the Guangzhou social development report for 2023, issued on Aug 10, the Guangdong provincial capital’s fiscal revenue also went up — from 157.97 billion yuan to 430.80 billion yuan during the same period — achieving an average annual growth rate of 11.79 percent.

In 2021, the city’s urbanization rate among long-term residents reached 86.46 percent. Its total goods imports and exports leaped from $117.17 billion in 2012 to $167.45 billion in 2021.

Shenzhen: Data Exchange Co welcomes first offshore data provider

ZY Technologies (HK) Co has become the first offshore data provider for Shenzhen Data Exchange Co, with the company’s data product having been approved by the exchange and officially launched. The development will provide a favorable foundation and reference for cross-border data services.

The Hong Kong company, which holds more than 9,000 stores’ data, can provide quick data analysis and response for various scenarios such as warehousing, legal compliance, products, culture, and sales return, which it said can help achieve cost savings of nearly 50 percent, and enable cross-border e-commerce companies to realize up to 300 percent growth in sales.

Zhuhai: More HK vehicles head north in summer break

A total of 26,000 cross-boundary trips were made by privately owned vehicles registered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge from July 1 to Sept 1. It shows the ongoing surge in popularity in the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles program since it came into effect in early July.

An official from the border inspection station of the bridge said a large number of people from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs drove to Guangdong province during the summer break for tourism, family visits or business, with high traffic flow at the border. The busy traffic was mainly caused by the growing number of vehicles from the HKSAR, which saw a large increase since August.

Foshan: Direct routes to Lanzhou, Hangzhou launched

Foshan has bolstered its air transportation network by introducing direct flight routes to the cities of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Lanzhou in Gansu province. Two flight routes offer travelers with affordable options with tickers sold at a low of 440 yuan ($60.30) and 700 yuan to Hangzhou and Lanzhou respectively, excluding taxes.

As of Sept 1, passengers can take flights departing from Foshan to Hangzhou every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Flights from Foshan to Lanzhou will depart every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Sept 16.

Huizhou: Residential property purchase rules relaxed 

Huizhou has eased its policy on residential property purchases from Sept 1, joining a number of other Chinese mainland cities helping their residents buy homes as the government strives to revive the flagging property market.

Under the policy, families can be treated as first-time homebuyers and enjoy preferential loan policies when purchasing homes as long as they do not own any property in the city, even if they have mortgage records. According to the latest notice issued by mainland financial regulators, the minimum required down payment has been lowered to 20 percent for first-time homebuyers and 30 percent for second-time purchasers.

Dongguan: Online map showcases city service locations

Dongguan launched an online map on Aug 24 to showcase the locations of convenient city services, such as parks and public toilets.

The map covers nine categories of 3,374 convenient service places, including 477 urban parks, 1,843 public toilets, 359 urban service stations, 34 garbage classification education centers, 409 bottled gas supply stations, and 222 large garbage collection points. Residents can select the type of services they need, find the nearest location of that service on the map, and get online navigation to the place. They can also reflect problems of the city’s services through the application.

Zhongshan: Industrial investment expands 47.3 percent

In the first seven months of this year, Zhongshan saw a growth of 47.3 percent year-on-year in its industrial investment, accounting for 36.6 percent of the total fixed-asset investment. During the same period, investment in advanced manufacturing soared 64.7 percent year-on-year, while investment in high-tech manufacturing surged 68.2 percent, from the previous year.

Zhongshan’s consumer market continued to rebound over the first seven months of the year. Total retail sales in the city stood at 97.48 billion yuan ($13.35 billion) — up 4.2 percent year-on-year.

Jiangmen: Economy develops steadily in first seven months

According to the latest data released by the Jiangmen Municipal Bureau of Statistics, most of the city’s major economic indicators — such as industry above designated size, fixed asset investment, as well as consumption and trade — maintained positive growth in the first seven months of this year, indicating Jiangmen’s economic operations are back on a steady recovery trend.

From January through July, the city’s added value of industries above designated size was 81.383 billion yuan ($11.14 billion) — a year-on-year increase of 3 percent. Fixed asset investment rose 3.2 percent year-on-year over the period, in which industrial investment achieved rapid growth, climbing 25.7 percent year-on-year.

The city’s actual use of foreign capital amounted to 2.34 billion yuan in the first seven months — a year-on-year surge of 43.9 percent, 90 percent of which came from Europe and Hong Kong.

Zhaoqing: Alibaba’s international operating center settles in 

An international operating center of Alibaba — China’s largest online business-to-business cross-border e-commerce platform — settled down in Zhaoqing on Aug 25. It will serve foreign trade export companies in Zhaoqing and Yunfu in Guangdong province.

The Cross-border E-commerce Branch of the Zhaoqing E-commerce Association said it will further promote communication and cooperation among cross-border e-commerce enterprises in the city.

As of August, Zhaoqing’s direct export value of cross-border e-commerce B2B in 2023 had exceeded 113 million yuan ($15.47 million), and the number of member companies of the Zhaoqing E-commerce Association had exceeded 80, with their total output value above 1.5 billion yuan.