GBA Briefs

Macao: More high school students mull mainland universities

About 47.1 percent of Macao's high school students who intend to further their studies see universities on the Chinese mainland as their first choice, according to a recent survey.

The figure is an increase of 8.4 percentage points over a similar poll conducted in 2019.

Another 24.3 percent of the respondents prefer to stay in the special administrative region for higher education.

The General Association of Chinese Students of Macao, which organized the survey, said the increase is due to the mainland's improved education standards, deeper integration into the Greater Bay Area and the mainland's success in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest survey was conducted from June 7 to July 5, during which about 1,600 questionnaires were collected.

Guangzhou: Trade fair to help city turn into world consumption hub

Various departments of the Guangzhou Municipal Government have pledged to use the China Import and Export Fair to help Guangdong's provincial capital become an international consumption hub.

They plan to step up the digital transformation of traditional industries, build more commercial centers and boost consumption in the cultural, tourism and sports sectors in this region.

Lin Guoqiang, deputy director of the Guangzhou Bureau of Commerce, said the event, also known as the Canton Fair, is of vital importance in helping Guangzhou's trade industry go global.

The city will make full use of the event to expand overseas markets and promote the exhibition industry.

The 130th fair — a global trade show — was held from Oct 15 through Tuesday.

The fair attracted nearly 8,000 enterprises, which set up booths on-site. About 26,000 enterprises attended the event online.

The fair had a record 2.87 million exhibits.

Shenzhen: Shenzhen starts projects at Lok Ma Chau Loop

The Shenzhen portion of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park — located on the Lok Ma Chau Loop along the two cities' border — has begun construction work on various facilities on a 150,000-square-meter plot of land.

The facilities include a scientific research office, a biomedicine industrial park, Hong Kong Science Park's Shenzhen branch, an incubator of State-owned firms and investment firms, and an integrated circuit industrial park.

At the same time, nine enterprises, including German technology giant Siemens and mainland investment conglomerate Ping An Insurance Group, have signed cooperation agreements to start 18 key projects in the zone.

Zhuhai: Job fair offers 350 posts in cooperation zone with Macao

About 50 enterprises from emerging industries took part in the first job recruitment fair in the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone on Zhuhai's Hengqin island. More than 350 posts were up for grabs. The participating industries involve technology research and development, high-end manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine, cultural tourism and modern finance. Along with the job fair, an online seminar on talent introduction policy was held on Oct 13, during which the policies of each region within the Hengqin economic cooperation zone were discussed.

Foshan: Nation's first public data asset voucher issued

The nation's first public data asset certificate was issued in Foshan on Saturday, marking another breakthrough in the data market's resource allocation reform. The Agricultural Bank of China used the public data asset voucher program to access a metal products company's electricity utilization data in connection with the company's application for a loan to help solve its cash flow problems. Public data asset certificates are used in the corporate sector, allowing banks to utilize the relevant information to check on the backgrounds, credit ratings and potential risks of companies applying for loans.

Huizhou: The city beefs up shift to industrial digitalization

A number of some 21 Huizhou-based industrial projects have been listed on Guangdong province's industrial internet benchmark since 2019, indicating steady progress has been made in the manufacturing sector's digitalization transformation. So far, more than 12,500 enterprises have registered on the cloud in Huizhou. The city plans to strengthen its 5G infrastructure and consolidate the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Huizhou) Data Industrial Park.

Dongguan: Multi-physical spectrometer open to worldwide applicants

China's first multi-physical spectrometer, located in Dongguan, is now open to global applicants who need to use it to conduct scientific experiments and after they pass a project review. The instrument can be used to study the structure of materials from atomic levels. So far, researchers of more than 130 projects have applied to use the apparatus.

The spectrometer was jointly developed by China Spallation Neutron Source — the first major national technology infrastructure in the Greater Bay Area — plus Dongguan University of Technology and City University of Hong Kong.

Zhongshan: Digital driving licenses to be issued from Saturday

Drivers in Zhongshan will be able to apply for nationally unified digital driving licenses from Saturday.

Five pilot cities in Guangdong province — Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Qingyuan — will start processing applications for digital driving licenses on a staggered basis from Wednesday.

Digital driving licenses, which can be stored in mobile phones, are valid nationwide and can be presented for traffic control operations and law enforcement inspections, as well as in social applications, such as passenger and freight transportation, car rentals and insurance procurement.

Jiangmen: High-tech zone to boost innovation, entrepreneurship

The Jiangmen Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in the city's Jianghai district has issued its first list of preferential policies to boost innovation and entrepreneurship, including the launch of a Hong Kong and Macao youth entrepreneurship and innovation center.

Catering to the region's high-end industrial needs, the zone plans to attract overseas Chinese investment and entrepreneurship, further optimize the business environment, and encourage enterprises and financial institutions to support and benefit from Jiangmen's high-quality industrial and technological development.

Zhaoqing: New hospital fuels region's medical collaboration

The Zhaoqing branch of Guangzhou-based Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University has begun a trial operation to step up integration of medical services in the Greater Bay Area and improve the region's healthcare development. The hospital in the Zhaoqing New Area aims to become one of the nation's top smart hospitals and a medical center in western Guangdong province.

With an area of more than 15,000 square meters and 1,200 beds, the hospital has an advanced technology system, as well as remote diagnosis and logistics systems.

Guangdong has accelerated the integration of high-quality medical services in recent years. By June, the province had 70 medical groups in the urban areas, 232 specialist alliances and 78 telemedicine networks.