Infrastructure

Established in April 2015, the Guangdong Free Trade Zone (GFTZ) stands as a pivotal component of China’s economic reform agenda. Comprising three distinct sub-zones – Nansha in Guangzhou, Qianhai and Shekou in Shenzhen, and Hengqin in Zhuhai – the GFTZ serves as a testing ground for policies aimed at liberalising trade, attracting foreign investment, and maximising the potential of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).​ Strategic positioning and objectives of Guangdong… …

Moving goods around has been one of the great challenges for domestic and foreign business in China since the beginning of the country’s reform and opening up in 1979. Getting your product inland, down to consumers in lower tiers, into the countryside, to the far west or the south has been a process that had to begin virtually from scratch. Refrigerated trucks, air and rail freight, and just-in-time delivery are… …

Since the late 1970s, China has undergone perhaps the most sweeping process of urbanisation ever witnessed. It’s a story largely understood as one of growth, rapid development and economic dynamism. But it could also be seen as a tale of sprawl, bad planning and alienation. Now all the talk is of ‘quality’ in urban planning and city studies. Richard Hu, a professor at the Canberra Business School, looks at the… …

Whether you are selling to Chinese consumers, using China as an Asia service base or sourcing from China, managing a steady and sustainable supply chain structure is crucial to running successful operations in China and beyond. But over the last few years, the Covid pandemic and a series of serious geopolitical crises have increased the challenges of supply chain management, causing logistical disruption, rising costs and labour market concerns. This… …

The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), in collaboration with the Qianhai International Talent Hub, hosted the inaugural UK-Greater Bay Area Conference in Shenzhen on Tuesday, 21 November The event saw the participation of over 200 delegates and provided a platform for more than 40 speakers, including senior representatives from the British Government and Greater Bay Area (GBA) local governments, and senior representatives from British and Chinese companies based in the UK, …

Ahead of the UK-GBA Conference in Shenzhen on 21 November, CBBC talks to Peggy Wang, Senior Wales Affair Officer for the Welsh government about the role the Greater Bay Area could play in regional growth in the UK What are the Welsh Government’s main goals in China? We are promoting a wide range of priority sectors for Wales, including life sciences, high value manufacturing, education, food and drinks, and tourism, …

Prior to CBBC’s UK-GBA Conference, which took place in Shenzhen on 21 November 2023, Tom Pattinson spoke to Janet Coyle CBE of London and Partners about why Chinese tech companies want to invest into London The hall at London’s Battersea Power Station is packed, full of start-ups, innovators, entrepreneurs, and scale-ups, all eager to absorb insights from the expert panel of tech companies, venture capitalists, investors, and futurists gracing the …

More than four years on from the release of a major plan for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, what opportunities does one of the world’s largest economic zones offer UK businesses? The Greater Bay Area (GBA), which covers nine municipalities of Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing) around the Pearl River Delta, plus the two Special Administrative Zones (SAR) of… …

In October 2023, China hosted the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing to mark 10 years of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Officially dubbed the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the BRI is an ambitious (and sometimes controversial) infrastructure development strategy that forms the centrepiece of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy strategy. On the 10th anniversary of the BRI, we… …

Renewable energy projects have yet to appear in droves as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, but new coal power projects have largely been halted, writes You Xiaoying from China Dialogue Developing countries have a “huge interest” in Chinese companies and institutions helping with their green energy development, experts have told China Dialogue. But there has yet to be a surge of renewable energy projects finalised under the Belt… …