GBA Briefs

Hong Kong: Healthcare vouchers to cover nine Guangdong cluster cities

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region plans to extend its Elderly Healthcare Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme to all the nine Chinese mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Secretary for Health Lo Chungmau said details will be announced in the first half of this year.

At present, the program covers nine medical organizations in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Zhongshan.

Macao: City organizes first business promotion trip to Middle East

Representatives of Macao's Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute visited Dubai and Riyadh from Feb 24-28 on the special administrative region's first investment and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) promotion mission to the Middle East.

The team toured key MICE venues, including the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, and explored collaboration opportunities with the organizers of Gulfood Expo, the world's largest annual food expo in Dubai.

Guangzhou: Inaugural cargo station boosts efficiency by 70%

The nation's first "dual pre-clearance" cargo station went into service at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport's Comprehensive Bonded Zone on March 6, combining civil aviation security screening with customs inspection into a unified pre-clearance process.

The station has drastically reduced the time for cross-border cargo clearance to less than three hours, boosting clearance efficiency by over 70 percent. It can process up to 200 metric tons daily and 70,000 tons annually in its first year, reaching 150,000 tons after the completion of the second phase.

Shenzhen: Five world-class shopping areas planned by 2035

Shenzhen's Commerce Bureau has outlined plans to build five world-class landmark commercial areas and six national-level shopping hubs in the coming decade.

Each of the world-class business districts is expected to cover an area of more than 1 million square meters, catering to a global clientele, while the national hubs will be between 500,000 sq m and 1 million sq m each, primarily targeting consumers from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Zhuhai: First humanoid robot manufacturing facility

A foundation stone laying ceremony for Zhuhai's first manufacturing base for complete humanoid robots was held recently at Fushan Industrial Park, Doumen district, marking a step forward in the city's ambition to capitalize on the growing artificial intelligence sector.

The base, covering an area of 34,000 square meters, will produce 3,000 humanoid robots annually when it goes into operation. The facility is due to be completed by yearend, with mass production expected to start in 2026.

Foshan: City secures 48.7b yuan in spring investment campaign

Foshan sent 212 investment promotion teams to various parts of the country following the Chinese New Year, visiting 735 enterprises and securing investments worth 48.7 billion yuan ($6.73 billion).

It marked the third year of the city's spring investment campaign, with 73 projects signed - 41 more than last year - and total investment up by 27 billion yuan. The projects focus on strategic emerging sectors.

Multinational company Sin-Sino will team up with Chancheng district to develop a high-end precision manufacturing center covering 100 mu (6.67 hectares), with an investment of 3 billion yuan.

Huizhou: High-quality development drive with 335 projects

Huizhou plans to launch 335 key construction projects this year, with total investments of 674.6 billion yuan ($93.25 billion).

Key areas of focus include infrastructure, industrial development, and public welfare, with 125 billion yuan allocated for these sectors by yearend. Six new roads will enhance Huizhou's role as a transportation hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The industrial sector will see 185 projects with investments of 56.4 billion yuan, targeting next-generation information technology, biopharmaceuticals, and new materials.

Dongguan: Pioneering city-level large model center set for launch

Dongguan plans to launch the nation's first city-level large model center on Wednesday, focusing on the manufacturing sector.

Developed and operated by Dongguan Digital Group, the center boasts a robust infrastructure, including 100 petaflops of domestically produced intelligent computing power, three foundational large models, and two specialized models tailored for the manufacturing industry.

Zhongshan: New port handled over 200,000 passenger trips in first 100 days

More than 200,000 trips were made through the new Zhongshan Passenger Port within its first 100 days of operation from Nov 28 to March 7. Chinese mainland passengers made about 98,000 trips, while travelers from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan made 85,000 trips.

The port offers daily ferry connections to major destinations, including China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong International Airport, Taipa Ferry Terminal in Macao, Shenzhen's Shekou Port and Shenzhen Airport Terminal.

Jiangmen: New social security cards enhance appeal to foreigners

Jiangmen has made big strides in helping foreign professionals to live and work in the city by incorporating foreign work permit information into their social security cards.

The new card retains its traditional functions while embedding foreign work permit information. The integration offers cardholders an "all-in-one-card" solution for various services, including social security, medical care, transportation and making payments, according to the city authorities.

Zhaoqing: 'AI civil servants' get down to work at high-tech zone

The Zhaoqing High-tech Industrial Development Zone has launched its first "AI civil servants" using the domestically developed DeepSeek R1 model. This model, tested on the internal network, provides efficient business consultation and support services for enterprises and government operations.

A local knowledge base has been established, enhancing intelligent government services and the AI industry. The model excels in high-complexity tasks, including cutting-edge research and professional domain analysis.