GBA Briefs

SAR, mainland to resume civil-servant exchanges

Hong Kong is to restart its Civil Service Staff Exchange Program with the Chinese mainland in the second half of this year, beginning with cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The exchange period will be extended from four weeks to three months.

The program enables civil servants from the special administrative region and the mainland to work in each other's government departments temporarily to exchange expertise and strengthen communication.

The HKSAR government had earlier resumed sending public servants to mainland universities for national affairs programs. The first batch of 23 directorate-level senior officials left for Beijing in late May.

Infrastructure cooperation highlighted in forum

A forum featuring sustainable infrastructure development between China and Portuguese-speaking countries was held in the Macao Special Administrative Region on June 2. Ji Xianzheng, secretary-general of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), said he hopes the forum will encourage more Chinese enterprises to promote green infrastructure construction in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Ambassador Maria Gustava, head of Portuguese-speaking countries' diplomatic corps in China, said Portuguese-speaking countries attach great importance to seizing the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, and further enhancing economic and trade relations with China.

1,000 internships offered to HK, Macao students

Guangzhou is offering about 1,000 summer internships to university students from Hong Kong and Macao. The internships, provided by 278 enterprises and public institutions, are mostly in advanced manufacturing, e-commerce, media and communication, cultural tourism, finance and taxation auditing, and legal services. The internship program will last 45 days. Students aged below 28 can apply for positions online.

A job fair, as well as information-sharing sessions, were held on June 3. Since March, the program has seen 293 enterprises, institutions, administrative agencies, and social service organizations offering 1,793 jobs. More than 800 Hong Kong and Macao university students applied for the jobs at roadshows held at universities in the two special administrative regions.

City ranks among Top 3 in attracting talents

Shenzhen ranked third among Chinese mainland cities - after Beijing and Shanghai - in attracting talents in 2022, according to the latest report by zhaopin.com, a human resources service platform.

The report shows the proportion of Shenzhen's net inflow of talent climbed to 1.1 percent from 0.4 percent in the past five years, indicating a significant trend of talent concentration.

As one of the most dynamic and innovative cities in China, Shenzhen's GDP reached 3.2 trillion yuan ($450 billion) in 2022, ranking third in the country. It is home to many well-known enterprises, including Huawei, Tencent and Ping An.

Tax incentives offered to fuel development

The tax department of Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone on Hengqin Island launched 25 measures on June 2 to support the zone's high-quality development.

Tax incentives are offered to eligible enterprises and Macao residents working in the zone. About 80 percent of the beneficiary enterprises are engaged in four key industries, including technological research and development, and high-end manufacturing.

"The 25 measures are to provide enterprises and individuals with all-round and whole-process services in relation to tax, and make the zone more livable for people and suitable for business," said an official from the department.

Railway construction to start in September

Construction work on the Foshan-Guangzhou-Dongguan Intercity Railway is expected to begin by late September.

Investment in the three-city railway exceeds 100 billion yuan. Trains on the railway would have a speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The railway is expected to become the backbone of the Greater Bay Area's east-west transportation system.

District schools to begin enrolling students

Enrollment for compulsory education schools in Huizhou's Huiyang district will begin on Saturday.

In the upcoming autumn semester, the district plans to admit 18,270 first-grade students in primary schools and 16,000 students in junior high schools.

Each primary school class will be restricted to a maximum of 45 students, while classes for junior high schools will accommodate a maximum of 50 students.

Two incubators recognized as national-level facilities

Dongguan has added two new national-level incubators - the Linrun Intelligent Valley and the Dongke Scientific Industrial Park - bringing the number of national-level incubators in the city to 28. The Torch High Technology Industry Development Center at the Ministry of Science and Technology announced a list of nationally recognized science and technology business incubators for 2022 on May 30.

The Linrun Intelligent Valley focuses on intelligent industries like biopharmaceuticals, intelligent manufacturing and artificial intelligence. Dongke Scientific Industrial Park deals mainly in new generation electronic information, with advanced equipment manufacturing and new energy and materials as supporting industries, creating a bridge for industry-university-research cooperation.

HK delegation on visit to promote film cooperation

A Hong Kong delegation, led by comic actor and producer Raymond Wong Pak-ming, visited Zhongshan as the first stop on a tour of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on May 30. The tour was aimed at seeking cooperation opportunities with the Chinese mainland's film industry.

The delegation included more than 60 graduates of the 2022 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Film Marketing Certificate Program, initiated by the Movie Producers and Distributors Association of Hong Kong.

Princess shows interest in city's scientific projects

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand and her delegation, accompanied by Wu Jun, counsellor of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, toured the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory on June 3.

Meeting with Wang Yifang - director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics - Princess Sirindhorn said she was interested in Thailand's participation in scientific projects.

The princess visited the experimental hall, located 700 meters underground, as well as the central detector under construction, and was briefed on the major technical challenges facing the project team.

Project to strengthen water treatment capacity

Zhaoqing launched an ecology-oriented development project on May 30, with the aim of beefing up the city's water treatment capacity and promoting renewable energies in Guangning county.

The ecology-oriented development mode integrates ecological and environmental improvement projects with profitable industries. The project, led by a local state-owned enterprise with a total investment of 1 billion yuan, plans to build water supply plants, sewage treatment facilities and solar photovoltaic panels, and to develop local carbon sinks.