WHEN foreign leaders plan visits to China, the destination of their first choice is not always the nation’s capital, Beijing.
It might seem surprising at first glance, given Beijing’s status as the political heart of China. However, it is understandable if the purpose of their visit, its political or cultural symbolic meanings, or the message they aim to convey are taken into account.
CHONGQING
The booming megacity of Chongqing in southwest China is famed for its mountainous terrain and fire-breathing hotpot. The Yangtze River winds its way through the city, painting a mesmerizing panorama.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Chongqing on Sunday morning to kick off his packed three-day visit.
He then travelled to Shanghai on Monday and is scheduled to conclude his visit in Beijing on Tuesday.
The various fields in which China and Germany enjoy promising co-operation are believed to have played a major role in determining his itinerary.
As an economic engine in the inland region, Chongqing has a strong industrial base and has reshaped its industrial landscape through innovation.
Accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives, Scholz visited Sino-German joint venture Bosch Hydrogen Powertrain Systems (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. and experienced the assembly of hydrogen fuel cell power modules.
He is impressed by the co-operation between German and Chinese enterprises in the field of hydrogen technology, and Germany is willing to continue to deepen friendly exchanges with China and push bilateral co-operation to a new level.
Chongqing has been actively expanding its capacity in hydrogen production, creating remarkable potential for bilateral co-operation in the area.
In December 2023, a major hydrogen supply centre for vehicles in southwest China went operational in Chongqing.
As Germany faces challenges with its green energy push, it is expected that German automakers will take advantage of the visit to deepen collaboration with their Chinese peers, which have become leading global players in new energy vehicles, said Sun Yanhong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Additionally, Chongqing serves as a pivotal hub for China-Europe freight trains. Observers said that Scholz’s visit paves the way for future bilateral co-operation in infrastructure.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of the China-Europe freight train services in the German city of Duisburg.
Soren Link, mayor of Duisburg, said that the demand for logistics between China and Europe is still high, and Duisburg is willing to maintain and strengthen ties with China while endeavoring to foster greater connectivity between the two sides.
GUANGZHOU
Political and economic considerations also play a major role in foreign leaders’ selection of cities, as exemplified by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s China trip earlier this month.
She commenced her journey in the southern city of Guangzhou, and then visited Beijing amid ongoing tensions surrounding U.S. economic and high-tech restrictions against China and the issue of production capacity.
According to Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organisation Studies in Beijing, Yellen’s decision to choose Guangzhou as her first stop indicates the “pragmatic” nature of the visit that focuses on commercial issues and businesses.
“Choosing Guangzhou as the first stop appears to be downplaying the official tone … Yellen was more pragmatic during this trip and willing to have contacts with companies so as to create a more relaxed atmosphere,” Huo said.
Yellen’s Guangzhou trip drew widespread attention both within China and worldwide.
“Yellen’s visit to China sent a positive signal, showing that China and the U.S. are willing to communicate,” Huo said.
China, the world’s third-largest country by territory with a population of over 1.4 billion and a rich history, is home to a myriad of vibrant cities.
From the political centre of Beijing to the financial hub of Shanghai, the trade port of Guangzhou and the inland municipality of Chongqing, each city offers its unique characteristics.
By immersing themselves in different Chinese cities, foreign leaders can get firsthand experiences and develop a more comprehensive understanding of China’s multifaceted geographical, economic and cultural landscape, thereby enabling them to refine their policy decisions and improve relations with China.
China’s GDP expands 5.3 per cent year on year in Q1
CHINA’S gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.3 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2024, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.
The country’s GDP reached 29.63 trillion yuan (about 4.17 trillion U.S. dollars) during this period, the NBS data showed.
On a quarterly basis, the economy increased 1.6 per cent in the first three months.
“China’s high-quality development has made new achievements in the first quarter.
The national economy has sustained recovery momentum and got off to a good start,” Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the NBS, told a press conference.
Sheng mentioned positive factors during the period such as rising production demand, stable employment and prices, and growing market confidence.
“These positive factors driving economic recovery are accumulating and strengthening, laying a good foundation for full-year growth,” said Sheng.
Sheng attributed the upbeat momentum in the first quarter to the implementation of supportive government policies and intensified macro-control efforts.
China’s GDP grew 5.2 per cent year on year last year and the country has targeted its full-year economic growth at around five per cent for 2024.
China New Growth: Smart tech empowers cement plant in south China
AT a cement ore field in the southern Chinese city of Baise, a fleet of trucks laden with limestones shuttled back and forth. A close look revealed that they’re driverless.
Those electrically driven trucks are equipped with multiple sensors like LiDAR, millimeter wave radar and vision cameras. Enabled with 5G tech and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, they are controlled by an intelligent console and run automatically throughout the mine lot.
The cement plant under China Resources Group exemplified the traditional industry upgrading of the manufacturing powerhouse, driven by emerging digital and smart technology.
By the end of 2023, China had built 421 national-level demonstration factories featuring intelligent manufacturing and over 10,000 local digital workshops and smart factories.
China has unveiled an action plan to promote industrial equipment upgrades. By 2027, the penetration rate of digital research and development (R&D) and design tools in major enterprises will exceed 90 per cent, and over 75 per cent of their key production processes will be digitally controlled.
In 2023, the cement plant in Baise adopted a whole-mine unpiloted transport system developed by Waytous, a Beijing-based intelligent mining tech provider incubated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The unmanned project was the first of its kind built in one go in China.
The ore blending in traditional cement plants mainly relies on human experience. It’s a process of mixing ores of different grades after they’re extracted to ensure the quality standards required.
However, the traditional scheduling dependent on manual labor is time-consuming and not optimal. It tends to result in low vehicle utilization rates and more wasted ores.
Now, the plant uses digital twin and 3D modeling technology to produce a virtual simulation model of an ore body with a reserve of 71 million tonnes.
The AI algorithm has been employed to construct a digital model that can automatically generate optimal plans for the combinations of mining locations and mining volume.
The digital upgrading has brought a 105 per cent increase in labor productivity, a 56 per cent reduction in unplanned equipment downtime, a 25 per cent increase in quality stability and a 24 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, said Sun Zhen, general manager of the plant.
At the site, the whole process including cement mining, grinding and delivery has been digitalised and intelligently controlled.
“The system can be automatically tuned in the background running process, so that it can run in a more economical and stable state,” said Luo Ling, an engineer sitting before a screen in the centralized smart control centre.
In December, the cement plant was selected as an “Advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Lighthouse” or “lighthouse factory” by the World Economic Forum.