Bookings of Chinese tourists for outbound travel during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays (February 10-17) have boomed, as the eight-day holidays are expected to become a global Golden Week, serving as a shot in the arm for the global tourism recovery.

Since mid-December 2023, searches for overseas hotels on Chinese online travel agency platform Qunar started to show a notable increase, with countries and regions including Thailand, Japan Singapore, Australia and Indonesia as well as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region among the hot outbound travel destinations, according to a report the company sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

Increases of flights to participating countries of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative have also driven up outbound travel bookings. According to Qunar, searches for hotels in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt so far in January are up 100 percent month-on-month.

In addition, some countries have stepped up marketing in China in order to attract Chinese travelers.

For example, the Qatar Tourism Authority released a video on its WeChat account that invites Chinese tourists to see pandas in Qatar during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays.

China is one of the most important tourist sources for multiple countries. The return of Chinese travelers is expected to give a boost to the growth of many countries, especially those that see the tourism sector as a major driver of economic growth, such as the Maldives.

Xu Xiaolei, a marketing manager at China CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday that inquiries for outbound travel on the platform during the upcoming holidays have increased by 200 percent compared with the previous Spring Festival (January 21 to 27, 2023).

CYTS Tours offers a series of in-depth outbound travel products to countries including France, Italy, New Zealand and Australia, which are popular among Chinese travelers.

"In general, Chinese tourists show strong willingness and consumption power during the Spring Festival holidays. The outbound tourism boom during the Spring Festival holidays is expected to trigger a super consumption week around the world," Xu said.

Xu said many countries are recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for efforts to strengthen international flights and hospitality facilities to boost the recovery of the global tourism industry with quality services.

Thanks to the implementation of five measures to facilitate foreign nationals coming to China as well as moves to waive or ease visa requirements, China's inbound tourism market is also expected to get a boost. The measures were effective from January 11.

According to data from online travel agency Trip.com, the number of inbound tourism bookings for the eight-day holidays has surged 10-fold compared with the Spring Festival in 2023, with travelers mainly coming from Japan, the US, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia.

Apart from enthusiasm for ice and snow tourism in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, other activities with local characteristics such as lantern festivals, temple fairs and hot spring tours in other cities across the country will a

China will increase investment in technological innovation to bolster strategic emerging industries, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) said on Wednesday during a press conference, in a move to accelerate the country's technology advancement and foster new productive forces. 

Yuan Ye, deputy director of the SASAC, said that centrally administrated state-owned enterprises (SOEs) completed 2.18 trillion yuan ($307.8 billion) of investment in strategic emerging industries in 2023, rising 32.1 percent year-on-year.

Investment in research and development reached 1.1 trillion yuan, surpassing the level of 1 trillion yuan for a second consecutive year.

Zhuang Shuxin, a spokesperson for the SASAC, noted during the press conference that the SASAC has initiated a number of new projects in photovoltaic hydrogen production, carbon fiber manufacturing and automotive chips; set up new enterprises in laser technology, quantum communication and satellite internet, and reorganized and merged companies in the areas of electronics, new energy, environmental protection and intelligent vehicle production.  

"We will build strategic emerging industry clusters and actively apply artificial intelligence technology into various sectors in order to achieve development progress in key areas of biology, new materials and new-energy vehicles," said Zhuang. 

Regarding the extremely cold weather this winter, the SASAC said it will enhance the development of the new-energy sector, including hydrogen and nuclear power, power storage and virtual power plants to ensure energy security. 

As of September 30, 2023, the assets of 383 listed SOEs reached 53 trillion yuan, of which 154 companies, or 40 percent, were in emerging industries. 

"The SASAC will encourage centrally administrated SOEs to increase the proportion of revenue and value-added across strategic emerging industries to facilitate more companies to turn to an innovation-driven growth pattern and help foster new productive forces," said Yuan.

China on Wednesday posted a robust GDP growth of 5.2 percent for 2023, successfully beating the government's pre-set yearly target of around 5 percent. This highlighted the strong internal dynamics of the world's second-largest economy and its significant potential for continuous expansion, even amid a turbulent international macroeconomic environment, continuing to drive global resurgence.

The country's economy particularly achieved a standout performance in the fourth quarter, growing 5.2 percent between October and December. Chinese Premier Li Qiang has already projected a 5.2 percent GDP growth for 2023 during a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Tuesday.

Despite factors including a slowdown in the real estate industry, China's economy emerged from the shadows of the pandemic over the past 12 months, achieving a remarkably steady growth. Standout achievements included vibrant services sector spending, substantial investments in high-end manufacturing, and notable advancements in foreign trade activities. These compelling data refuted the continuous attempts by certain foreign media outlets to paint a negative picture of China's economic recovery.

Analysts noted that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain solid, with new growth drivers continually emerging, while certain risk factors are being steadily addressed by government policies. Despite challenges expected in 2024, there is a positive outlook for the Chinese economy to navigate the choppy waters, ensuring continuous and steady growth.

In 2023, China's annual GDP reached 126.06 trillion yuan ($17.52 trillion), registering a 5.2 percent growth compared to the previous year. Despite stiff headwinds, the national economy demonstrated resilience, achieving a new milestone in overall economic development, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

Bright spots

In terms of industry breakdown, the value added in the primary sector surged to 8.98 trillion yuan, showing a robust 4.1 percent increase from the previous year. The secondary sector contributed significantly with 48.26 trillion yuan, marking a steady growth of 4.7 percent, while the tertiary sector added 68.82 trillion yuan, experiencing a notable 5.8 percent increase.

Looking at the quarterly performance, the year-on-year GDP growth rates were 4.5 percent in the first quarter, 6.3 percent in the second quarter, 4.9 percent in the third quarter, and 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter.

In 2023, China's total grain output reached 1.39 trillion jin (695 billion kilogram), an increase of 1.3 percent over the previous year, consistently exceeding 1.3 trillion jin for the ninth consecutive year.

The annual value-added of the national industrial enterprises above a designated size increased by 4.6 percent compared to the previous year. In particular, that of the equipment manufacturing industry grew by 6.8 percent, 2.2 percentage points higher than that of the overall industrial enterprises above a designated size.

The total retail sales of consumer goods recorded 47.15 trillion yuan, up 7.2 percent year-on-year. Spending in the services sector experienced rapid growth, with a year-on-year retail sales increase of 20 percent .

The annual per capita disposable income of residents nationwide reached 39,218 yuan, marking a nominal growth of 6.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Analysts have taken stock of highlights in the country's economic performance in 2023.

"For starters, it is the commendable and sustained industrial upgrades from medium and low value-added industries to high value-added industries," Tian Yun, an independent macro analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Tian highlighted automotive, airplane and ship manufacturing as highlights that beat market expectations the most.

In 2023, China's auto production and sales for the first time both exceeded 30 million units, a record high, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers last week. By shipping over 5 million automobiles overseas, the country is estimated to have overtaken Japan as the world's largest auto exporter in 2023.

The annual national fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 50.3 trillion yuan, showing a growth of 3 percent compared to the previous year. Notably, investment in the manufacturing sector increased by 6.5 percent. The high-tech industry investment emerged as a highlight, growing by 10.3 percent and surpassing the overall investment growth by 7.3 percentage points. Investments in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services increased by 9.9 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively.

"The second notable highlight is evident in addressing and strengthening the weaknesses or shortcomings [in high-tech sectors]," Tian said.

For instance, in the field of semiconductor technology, China has witnessed a decline in chip imports, yet its domestic production has not only been maintained but has also demonstrated higher efficiency, Tian said, stressing that it was an impressive progress in the face of an ongoing US blockade.

China's global trade position is unassailable. Without the export of high-quality and low-cost technologically advanced products from China, many countries, especially developing and low-income nations, might face even more severe development challenges than they currently do, Tian added.

During a Friday interview with the Global Times, Yu Xiangrong, Citi's chief economist for China, also highlighted the accelerated recovery of spending of services, improvements in the export chain and the rapid development of high-end manufacturing as bright spots in China's performance over the past year.

As the Spring Festival holidays approach, domestic travel, outbound and inbound travel bookings have all witnessed significant growth. For the upcoming holidays, domestic travel bookings have grown over 7 times compared to the previous year, while both outbound and inbound travel bookings have increased by more than 10 times year-on-year, per data sent to the Global Times by online travel agency Trip.com on Tuesday.

On Friday, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) released China's foreign trade data for 2023, revealing trends that exceeded expectations. Total trade grew 0.2 percent year-on-year to 41.76 trillion yuan.

GAC deputy head Wang Lingjun told a press conference that "China's imports and exports performed 'better than expected,' and it is expected to maintain its position as the world's largest goods trading nation for a seventh consecutive year."

According to the World Trade Organization, the international market share of China's exports in 2023 was likely to have remained at a high level of around 14 percent.

Managing risks

While highlighting the lingering challenges, the real estate sector saw its investment decline by 9.6 percent. The national sales area of commercial residential buildings stood at 1.12 billion square meters, reflecting a decrease of 8.5 percent.

Tian noted that the risks associated with local government debt and the real estate sector are entirely manageable. In fact, the levels of indebtedness in the real estate industry to overseas creditors decreased significantly last year, he added, noting that "moreover, there is still sufficient room for further improvement in China's urbanization rate."

"We see the drag by the property sector will likely diminish in 2024," Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist with ANZ Research, told the Global Times in a written interview.

Xing further predicted that China is expected to set a GDP growth target of 5 percent for 2024 and "potential growth should still be above 5 percent."

Yu Yongding, academic advisor to the CF40 and Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said in a recent article shared with the Global Times that "In my opinion, the economic growth target for China in 2024 should not be lower than 5 percent."

As the new year begins, efforts are being made to achieve a robust economic start to the year all over the country.

Bustling tourism in Harbin, the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is propelling the rapid recovery of the national cultural and tourism industry. Major projects are being commenced across the country, targeting areas such as improving living standards, advancing infrastructure and urban renewal, and upgrading industries.

"Politically, 2024 is the Voldemort of years," reads the latest report issued by Eurasia Group, a US-based global political risk research and consulting firm.

In its annual report, "Top Risks for 2024," released on Monday, Eurasia Group provided the reason for this view: Three wars will dominate world affairs in 2024: Russia vs. Ukraine, Israel vs. Hamas, and the US vs. itself. The top three global risks listed in the report are "the US vs. itself," "Middle East on the brink" and "Partitioned Ukraine."

In other words, the world is entering a year of grave concern - "the Voldemort of years" because of the US, as all three top risks are related to the US. It's fair to say the US is the source of global risks in 2024.

According to Eurasia Group's report, US public trust in core institutions - such as Congress, the judiciary, and the media - is at historic lows; polarization and partisanship are at historic highs. The report said that if the current Republican candidate, Donald Trump, loses to incumbent President Joe Biden in the next election, he will allege mass fraud once again and "incite widespread intimidation campaigns" against election workers and secretaries of state in both red and blue states. At the same time, Biden would be 86 years old at the end of his second term. "The vast majority of Americans want neither to lead the nation."

The US election has now become an either-or choice between "worse" and "the worst." Americans are helpless, yet they have no better choices. The election risk is rooted in the internal political division within the US, and the conflict of interests between the Democratic and Republican Parties has reached an irreconcilable point. The current political system in the US cannot bridge such contradictions and conflicts, leading to a political deadlock, which means that whoever takes office will not have the ability to point out a path for the US, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

With the increasing polarization and social division in American politics, some polls show that Americans have a more open attitude toward using violence to achieve political goals. The US has increasingly become "the United States of Political Violence." Now, the US has become a country that makes the world worry. 

"When a country's internal risks reach a certain level, it is highly likely that the conflict will spill over. The US wants to shift its risks to other countries and divert domestic attention, making other countries share the pressure of its internal issues. This is terrifying," Lü said.

Regarding the other two top risks faced by the world mentioned in the report, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Gaza war, the US also bears an undeniable responsibility.

The US' push for NATO's eastward expansion directly led to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war and the US has acted as the biggest hurdle to a ceasefire. Michael von der Schulenburg, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General revealed at the end of 2023 that "just one month after the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators had come very close to an agreement for a ceasefire and to an outline for a comprehensive peace solution to the conflict." But "these peace negotiations failed due to resistance from NATO and in particular from the US and the UK. The reason is that such a peace agreement would have been tantamount to a defeat for NATO, an end to NATO's eastward expansion, and thus an end to the dream of a unipolar world dominated by the US." 

In 2024, the US and some other Western countries may experience "Ukraine fatigue" to some extent in terms of providing aid to Ukraine, but due to the need to maintain their geopolitical advantage, it is expected that they will continue to use Ukraine as a pawn to engage in fierce competition with Russia.

On another battlefield, Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. However, the US has consistently maintained its "taking sides" stance. And the US has never truly had the intention and capacity to promote peace.

The US is indeed the source of global risks. What is even more tragic is that even though the Eurasia Group predicted future risks, we still cannot avoid them. Furthermore, US think tanks, consulting firms, and politicians have shown little interest in restricting US' destructive actions on the world.

At present, one of the core objectives for countries around the world to engage with the US should be to avoid the US bringing more risks to the world, said Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University.

China's State Council, the cabinet, on Monday unveiled a sweeping guideline on promoting the development of the "silver economy," or the elderly care industry, in a bid to actively respond to the aging population and foster new economic growth drivers. China's silver economy could reportedly be worth as much as 30 trillion yuan ($4.18 trillion) by 2035.

The guideline marks the first policy document dedicated to the silver economy, as the country is facing an increasingly aging population. While many foreign media outlets have been hyping China's aging population, experts said that the silver economy could also offer sustainable growth points.

The guideline contains 26 specific measures in four areas, including tackling urgent challenges faced by the elderly, expanding supply of elderly care products and services, and fostering industries with vast potential.

The silver economy is the aggregate of a series of economic activities such as providing products or services to the elderly and preparing for old age, and it has huge potential, according to the guideline. The guideline aims to actively respond to the aging of the population, cultivate new driving forces for economic development, and improve people's quality of life.

Among the main takeaways is a plan to establish 10 high-level silver economy industrial parks in areas such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The guideline also pledged greater financial support for industrial development, including optimizing the central government budget to support the upgrading of qualified new elderly care service facilities and to promote the use of intelligent equipment.

State-owned enterprises will be encouraged and guided to actively expand businesses related to the silver economy. Private businesses will also be given a full role to play in the silver economy, and unreasonable market access barriers will be removed, according to the guideline.

Currently, the scale of China's silver economy stands at around 7 trillion yuan, about 6 percent of China's total GDP, and the scale could reach 30 trillion yuan by 2035, accounting for about 10 percent of total GDP, according to China Media Group.

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate has arrested Tang Shuangning, former Party chief and chairman of China Everbright Group, for the charge of embezzlement and accepting bribes, weakening the Party’s leadership over the state-owned enterprise, being ineffective in preventing and defusing financial risks, privately reading publications with serious political problems and resisting the organizational scrutiny, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission. 

The decision came after China’s National Commission of Supervision concluded the investigation into the case and handed over the case to China’s top procuratorate for review and prosecution, according to a statement released on the website of CCDI and the National Supervisory Commission on Monday. 

Tang, who was born in Beizhen city, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province in October of 1954, worked at the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, and was appointed as deputy chairman of the former China Banking Regulatory Commission, China's top banking regulator, in 2003. He became the Party chief and chairman of the China Everbright Group in June 2007. 

Tang retired in December of 2017 and was placed under investigation in July of 2023. He was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) in January of 2024. 

According to a statement released on January 6 by the CCDI and the National Supervisory Commission, Tang had lost his ideals and beliefs, failed to resolutely implement the major decisions and plans made by the CPC Central Committee, weakened the Party’s leadership over the state-owned enterprise, and was ineffective in preventing and addressing financial risks. 

Tang also extensively publicized his personal calligraphy works by abusing his authority, and privately brought into the country and read publications with serious political problems, resisting the organizational scrutiny. 

Tang also took undue advantage of his position to appropriate public assets and seek profits for others in matters such as obtaining loans and job promotions, and illegally accepted huge sums of money and valuables in return, among other misdeeds. 

Tang’s actions have gravely breached Party discipline and he is placed under suspicion of criminal offenses related to embezzlement and accepting bribes, according to the statement. 

Tang has been expelled from the CPC following an investigation by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision upon the approval of the CPC Central Committee, with his illicit gains confiscated. 

China's Ministry of Education (MOE) on Thursday published a list of 184 primary and secondary school artificial intelligence (AI) education bases across the country including North China's Beijing, Tianjin, and East China's Shanghai, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, and South China's Guangdong Province, aiming to promote AI education systematically nationwide.

The publicity period lasts from Thursday to January 17. Anyone who has objections can submit relevant information during this period, according to the ministry.

In May 2023, the MOE issued an action plan for deepening the reform of the basic education curriculum, in which it required teaching equipment and usage to be improved, and a group of characteristic high-level science and AI education primary and secondary school bases to be selected.

In Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and a few provinces, there are six schools on the list. Some schools started AI education in recent years in the face of the rapid development of AI technology, as a way to encourage more students to gain more knowledge in this sector, and inspire their creative capability to learn how to analyze data and identify patterns based on AI algorithms.

One example is Wenzhou No 22 Senior Middle School in East China's Zhejiang Province , which was founded in 2002. The school has always been at the forefront of information technology in the country, and has been awarded the title of one of the first "100 digital campus demonstration schools" in China.

"AI education has been explored in our school for nearly five years," Ding Die, vice principal of Wenzhou No 22 Senior Middle School, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The school has integrated the curriculum standards related to AI in the fields of information technology and general technology, and has incorporated the course content and practical applications into the school's AI education space. The space integrates the fields of design, teaching, and operation, and is equipped with 3D printers, laser engraving machines, high-end computers and other equipment, according to Ding.

Ding said that the schools will continue improving the relevant AI courses and popularize them among students. The school will also strengthen the connection between students and AI projects in universities, to make students' career planning clearer during their learning process.

Shanghai Luwan Senior High School has also been conducting AI education practice and exploration in recent years. This initiative to establish primary and secondary school AI education bases is highly beneficial to the public, and will be welcomed by parents and students, Zhang Xiaojun, a teacher who tutors students in science and tech classes from this school, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Due to the lack of equipment and teacher resources in some schools, students have limited space to learn more in this sector. With a nationwide drive to build AI bases, students will have the opportunity to delve into real technical content, participating in and gaining knowledge in this field, according to Zhang.

In the school, students are categorized into general courses, advanced courses, and high-level courses specifically designed for a few students. Every student can have access to some basic AI content, such as graphic programming, and using AI to solve practical problems. For advanced courses, they will study specific projects, such as autonomous driving, intelligent logistics, and drone programming, Zhang said.

Zhang said that systematic training and an incentive mechanism will be beneficial to cultivating more teachers in this sector. Ding, the vice principal, also echoed the opinion that it will encourage teachers to take every opportunity to train in AI teaching.

China will carry out further training sessions to boost the scientific competence of primary and secondary school teachers, said a circular jointly issued by the general offices of the MOE, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Association for Science and Technology in July 2023. More than 3,500 teaching staff and science counsellors in primary and secondary schools have participated in the training sessions, which started from mid-July, according to the authorities.

China has purchased more than 400 million tons of grain in 2023, meanwhile a total of 120 million tons of autumn grain has been purchased by the nation's major grain producers so far, reaching the highest level in recent years. Autumn grain purchase was faster than that of last year, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.

India's Enforcement Directorate, the country's financial crime-fighting agency, reportedly conducted probes across 19 locations against what it described as "potential violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act" by Chinese-owned companies, reported India Today, in another unscrupulous move targeting Chinese companies.

India's heightened scrutiny of Chinese companies, fueled by purely political motives, is tarnishing the country's image and transforming it into what resembles more of a "graveyard for foreign companies," Chinese experts warned.

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that the corresponding Chinese-owned fintech companies, collaborating with local non-banking financial companies and payment gateways, engaged in unethical lending practices, India Today reported on Tuesday.

The agency seized 13 million rupees ($1.6 million) in cash and several incriminating documents, the report said.

Indian authorities, exercising their right to investigate companies within the country, have increasingly concentrated on Chinese businesses, especially in the past three years, where major companies like Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo have frequently become targets, leading observers to believe in the existence of strong political motives behind these actions, Chinese experts said.

The latest move is  only making the country less favorable for international investors, especially those from China, that have played an important role in creating jobs, paying taxes and contributing to the industry chain's development, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

India's discriminatory sanctions targeting Chinese companies and their employees include routine financial and tax audits, fines and abrupt spikes in import tariffs, while disregarding these companies' contributions to the local economy, an India-based industry veteran told the Global Times in a recent interview.

The probe came just about a week after the same government department arrested three senior employees working for Vivo's India unit under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in late December.

On December 30, only a few days after the arrest, an Indian trial court ordered the immediate release of the three arrested.

 "The phenomenon of politicizing judicial tools in India is already evident," Qian said, noting that it will have a significant impact on India's touted investment environment, and also affect bilateral economic and trade relations.

Since the border conflict between China and India in June 2020, there has been a noticeable escalation in Indian authorities' hostility toward Chinese companies, including the prohibition of more than 200 Chinese apps, initiating investigations related to taxation and anti-money laundering concerning Chinese businesses, and intensifying the examination of Chinese investments.

If India continues down this path, it will only add another negative aspect to its reputation as a "foreign enterprise graveyard," Qian noted.

Walking through the bustling Huaqiangbei commercial area in Shenzhen city, South China's Guangdong Province, the largest electronics retail market in China, one is immediately impressed by its international atmosphere. Foreign faces busily pass by, and English logos adorn almost every big tower, showcasing various products from LED to mobile phones, all made in China for the world.

The scenes at Huaqiangbei are a symbol of the city's vibrant trade. Despite global headwinds, Shenzhen, an epitome of China's manufacturing and commerce, remains resilient.

Fueled by an industrial upgrade on the back of government support, Shenzhen has experienced a sustained economy-wide transformation. Notably, the city's exports have shifted from labor-intensive sectors to high-value products including electronic devices and electric vehicles (EVs).

The shift has boosted Shenzhen's economy, which remains on an upward trajectory, driven by the high-end products generated in the city, industry experts said.

Global competitiveness

Mohamed, a Yemeni businessperson who frequently visits the city to meet local business partners and place orders, kicked off a "pilgrimage" at the Huaqiangbei commercial area to restock his electronics store in Yemen.

In an interview with the Global Times, he said that he has been coming here for many years, rating the products for their cost-effectiveness and high quality.

Despite global inflation and the extension of the supply chain to neighboring Asian countries in the past several years, Mohamed is impressed with the competitiveness of Chinese products. He said that there is nowhere else to find better products than Shenzhen. Mohamed's sentiments are not isolated. Numerous high-tech enterprises, which originated and flourished in Shenzhen, are collectively bolstering the city's industrial prowess, building up the city's competitiveness.

At a local production line of the domestic mobile phone maker Honor, the production of a mobile phone takes only 28.5 seconds, with 75 percent of the work being done by automated tools, the Global Times learned from the company.

Honor's exports experienced significant growth, achieving a 200 percent increase in its overseas markets in 2023.

Attaching great importance to product innovation, the company has invested 10 percent of its revenue in research and development (R&D) every year since it was spun off in November 2020. Its R&D investment intensity now ranks among the top six in the country, Song Yiwen, president of Honor's supply chain management department, told the Global Times.

BYD, the EV manufacturing giant based in Shenzhen, also achieved notable results outside of China in 2023.

The car-maker secured the title of the top-selling new-energy vehicle in Brazil for several months in 2023 and became cumulative sales champions in Thailand, Singapore and Colombia from January to October 2023, BYD told the Global Times.

While consistently exporting high-quality products to overseas markets, BYD has built core technological advantages in new energy areas such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls.

In the warehouse of MBE International, a Shenzhen-based logistics company, workers are using forklifts to neatly arrange goods from all over the country. Most of these goods are high-value-added electromechanical products that will be shipped to overseas markets. 

Tang Lingli, general manager of the logistics company, with over 20 years of experience in the industry, has been a witness of how industry transformation has brought about changes to foreign trade.

About 20 years ago, Shenzhen's logistics facilities were not well-developed, and the volume of goods handled was so restricted that handling 1,000 tons of goods in a month was considered to be a great feat, Tang recalled.

Nowadays, MBE International's monthly shipping volume reaching 16,000 tons is the norm, and the value of transported goods has significantly increased, she said.

"From shoes, clothing, and bags to electronic products, we have witnessed high-quality development and transformation and upgrading of Shenzhen's foreign trade," Tang said.

Advanced technology

The Shenzhen Bureau of Commerce told the Global Times that the city is robustly supporting emerging sectors such as advanced technology and high-end manufacturing. 

"Shenzhen is actively accelerating its global product outreach, encouraging traditional industries to increase investments in technology," the bureau said.

The goal is to improve the quality and tech features of exported goods, boost the competitiveness of exported goods like electronic products, and increase overall export volume to strengthen Shenzhen's position in exports, according to the local commerce bureau.

Latest data the Global Times obtained from Shenzhen Customs shows that Shenzhen's import and export volume from January to November amounted to 3.51 trillion yuan ($489 billion), showing a year-on-year growth of 6.3 percent. This growth rate places Shenzhen at the forefront among the top 10 major foreign trade hubs in the country.

Specifically, the city's exports have surged by 13.6 percent during the period. It is anticipated that Shenzhen is positioned to secure its 31st consecutive first-place finish in terms of annual exports in the Chinese mainland.

The electronic information industry has remained Shenzhen's pillar industry. Exports of electromechanical products, mainly computer communications and other electronic equipment, account for over 70 percent of the total exports, according to media reports.

Looking forward, foreign trade in 2024 is expected to be better than last year because the year 2023 experienced the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter, Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told Global Times on Wednesday.

The upgrading and transformation of industries have been pivotal in boosting exports, and this year they will play an even more critical role in driving the nation's foreign trade growth, Li said.