At the APEC media center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Saturday, Russia Today journalist Mariia Cherdantseva watched a robot prepare coffee — a sight that she had expected in a city often dubbed "China's Silicon Valley".
Having previously visited Shenzhen, Cherdantseva said that she is impressed every time by how the city has developed. She found the center's artificial intelligence applications both useful for journalists and fun to interact with.
The media center, which opened on Nov 11 for journalists covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Week, offers a glimpse into the city's preparations for the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Shenzhen will become the third Chinese city to host the event, after Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014. This year's meeting is themed "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together", with openness, innovation and cooperation as priorities.
The city's preparations extend well beyond the media center, bringing together conference arrangements, visitor services and technology to welcome guests from across the Asia-Pacific.
At a news briefing on Saturday, Shenzhen Mayor Li Yun said that all of the meeting venues were ready following equipment checks and full rehearsals.
Dedicated channels for delegates have been established at nine ports of entry spanning sea, land, air and rail routes. Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport has introduced advanced screening technology for checked baggage in order to streamline clearance, Li said.
More than 100,000 foreign-language signs have been standardized across the city, and over 7,000 AI translation devices have been installed at transport hubs, tourist attractions and shopping areas. Visitors can use bank cards issued overseas to pay for metro rides or withdraw cash from more than 3,000 ATMs across the city, while 1,360 conference volunteers and tens of thousands of city volunteers are on hand to help.
The use of technology in the preparations reflects Shenzhen's broader strengths in innovation and manufacturing.
Xia Lei, deputy director of the city's science and technology innovation bureau, said that Shenzhen's industry has long generated more than 30 percent of its GDP, helping to translate research findings in laboratories into market-ready products.
He pointed to the Huaqiangbei electronics market and the city's extensive supply chains as part of the ecosystem in which technology businesses have grown.
Shenzhen has given rise to global technology leaders including Huawei, BYD, Tencent and DJI. The city posted GDP of 3.87 trillion yuan ($580 billion) in 2025, with research and development spending reaching 7.1 percent of GDP — the highest ratio among Chinese cities for the second consecutive year.
That industrial strength is underpinned by an extensive network of regional trade and investment. During the first nine months of 2026, trade with other APEC economies rose 40 percent year-on-year, accounting for nearly 70 percent of Shenzhen's total foreign trade.
Shenzhen companies invested $4.1 billion in those economies, accounting for more than 60 percent of the city's outward investment volume, according to data-released at Saturday's briefing.
The city has also become the first on the Chinese mainland to surpass 5 trillion yuan in foreign trade, with imports and exports reaching 5.25 trillion yuan in the first 10 months of 2026, according to customs data.
Zhang Feimeng, director-general of Shenzhen's commerce bureau, said that imports reached 2.24 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, up 70.1 percent, as the city worked to open its market wider to overseas suppliers.
Meanwhile, Shenzhen's combined exports of competitive products, such as 3D printers, digital cameras and smartphones, grew 15.5 percent during the same period.
Ma Jiangtao, founding director of the Doctorate Association — a nonprofit organization based in the United Kingdom that connects global scholars for academic exchanges — said that a city's international character is built through genuine exchanges and tangible business opportunities.
He expressed hope that continued opening-up would attract more international visitors to China, unlocking more opportunities for cooperation.
Du Lan, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies' Department for Asia-Pacific Studies, said that Shenzhen's use of technology and city services to welcome international guests signals a broader opportunity for China to support Asia-Pacific growth through market openness and innovation cooperation.
China can leverage its vast market to offer businesses more predictable market access by promoting trade and investment liberalization and closer alignment with regional trade arrangements, Du said.
Contact the writers at zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn
