GBA Briefs

Hong Kong

City linked to l6 more mainland rail stations

Passengers departing Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station on the national high-speed rail network will soon be able to travel to 16 new destinations on the Chinese mainland.

Tickets for the new stations, which include Nanjing and Wuxi in Jiangsu province and Hefei in Anhui province, went on sale on Monday. Services start on Jan 26.

The total number of destinations that will be served then will be 110, strengthening connectivity with the mainland.

The other new destinations include Qingyuan, Shantounan, Lufengdong and Huizhounan in Guangdong province; Miluodong in Hunan province; and Fuzhounan in Fujian province.

Macao

SAR's first Mako-aided knee surgery succeeds

The Islands Healthcare Complex-Macao Medical Centre of Peking Union Medical College Hospital has recently conducted the Macao Special Administrative Region's first total knee replacement surgery, aided by the robotic-arm Mako — an orthopedic robotic system developed by medical technology company, Stryker, the hospital announced on Jan 6.

The elderly female patient, whose mobility had been greatly limited by severe knee flexion and varus deformity, recovered well and was able to walk with support a day after the operation.

The robotic arm provided real-time feedback and performed bone cuts with sub-millimeter accuracy during the operation, protecting key nerves and blood vessels.

Guangzhou

Police-passenger eVTOl aircraft takes to the sky

The nation's first officially commissioned and airworthy police passenger-carrying aircraft entered service in Guangzhou's Huangpu district on Saturday.

The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 650 kilograms. It can carry two people and fly at a speed of 130 kilometers per hour along pre-set routes without a pilot on board.

Huangpu police will deploy the eVTOL for a wide range of scenarios, including daily patrols, apprehension of suspects, explosives detection and disposal, traffic guidance, and search-and-rescue operations.

Shenzhen

Airport upgrades security lanes for Spring Festival

Shenzhen Baoan International Airport is upgrading its smart security services ahead of the travel rush during the upcoming Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 17, to improve accuracy and efficiency with more advanced carry-on luggage CT scanners.

The upgrade will apply to the airport's "easy security check" lanes that use automated gates, facial recognition and millimeter-wave body scanners to streamline the screening process. With the equipment, passengers won't be required to remove laptops, umbrellas or other once-restricted items from their bags, reducing average screening time to about three minutes.

Zhuhai

AI safety center to boost regulatory standards

The Zhuxi Center and the Zhuhai Service Station of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Generative Artificial Intelligence Safety and Development Collaborative Laboratory were unveiled on Jan 6 at the Zhuhai Embodied Intelligence Application Innovation Center.

The new facilities will explore mutual recognition of AI regulatory standards across the region and mechanisms for securing cross-boundary data flow. They will also conduct AI safety assessments for drones, unmanned vessels and other intelligent equipment.

Foshan

ZTO Express begins smart operations center in city

China's leading logistics firm ZTO Express began construction of its integrated air-ground smart operations center in Foshan's Shunde district on Jan 9 as part of efforts to step up expansion in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Covering an area of 212 mu, or about 14 hectares, and involving an investment of 5 billion yuan ($716 million), the project will serve cities on the west bank of the Pearl River, including Foshan, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen.

The first phase, with an investment of 3 billion yuan, will focus on equipment manufacturing, smart logistics and the low-altitude economy.

Huizhou

First bonded logistics center gets the nod

The Huizhou Zhongkai Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) is ready for closed-loop operation after having passed on-site inspections on Jan 7 by multiple government agencies.

As Huizhou's first bonded logistics center, the facility will provide various services, such as bonded storage, international distribution and transit, and offer bonded treatment for imported goods and tax rebates for eligible exports.

The center is seen as a key platform for trade and opening-up, providing companies in Huizhou and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with a more efficient supply chain and Customs services.

Dongguan

Arbitration center boosts business ties with Taiwan

The Dongguan Arbitration Commission on Dec 30 set up an arbitration center dedicated to promoting innovation cooperation between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, with a legal-service exchange conference held during its inauguration ceremony.

The facility is dedicated to leveraging arbitration in diversified disputes resolution, directly addressing the legal needs of Taiwan enterprises on the mainland, and improving the legal-business environment to support Dongguan's export-driven economy. The Dongguan Arbitration Commission has served nearly 100 Taiwan-related entities since its opening in 2021.

Zhongshan

T3 Go to establish Greater Bay area headquarters in city

Nanjing LingHang Technology Co (T3 Go), a major player in the nation's smart-mobility sector, will set up its Greater Bay Area ecosystem headquarters in Zhongshan with an investment of 500 million yuan ($71.6 million), the Zhongshan authorities announced on Jan 6.

Located in Zhongshan's Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone, the facility will house regional operations and settlement functions, a robotaxi research center, a low-altitude mobility services hub and driver support facilities. The project is expected to generate revenue of several billion yuan in the coming years.

Jiangmen

Nation's largest energy storage station to rise in city

Guangzhou Huining Times New Energy Development Co has signed an accord with Jiangmen's Xinhui district on Jan 4 to build the country's largest single-unit electrochemical energy storage power station. The project, with an investment of 4.5 billion yuan ($645 million), will be integrated into the 500-kilovolt power grid.

Land supply is due to be completed in the first quarter of this year, with construction likely to be finished within 18 months. When fully operational, the project is expected to generate annual revenue of about 480 million yuan.

Jiangmen aims to generate over 50 billion yuan in output value in the new energy storage sector by 2027, with Xinhui a major development hub for battery manufacturing, system integration and recycling.

Zhaoqing

New energy sector bolsters trade with South Korea

Trade between Zhaoqing and South Korea grew strongly last year, with several categories expanding sharply.

Customs data for the first 11 months of 2025 showed that the value of exports and imports of new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells reached 34.5 million yuan ($4.94 million) — up more than eleven-fold year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing sector.

To help local firms expand in South Korea, Zhaoqing Customs has rolled out reforms to streamline oversight and clearance procedures. These include promoting coordinated clearance between Zhaoqing's inland river ports and major hub ports like Guangzhou's Nansha Port and Shenzhen's She-kou Port, requiring only one declaration and one inspection before the goods are exported.