Nigeria Times

By Zhao Shan, People’s Daily

Sanya, a tropical coastal city in south China’s Hainan province, is a renowned tourist destination. Recently, the city has seen a continuous rise in inbound tourism thanks to its unique natural environment and rich cultural resources.

“I love exploring Sanya’s night markets. There are different kinds of amazing dishes like ching bo leung, which is a cool and refreshing sweet soup served as dessert, shrimp cakes, stir-fried ice cream, as well as fruits,” said Italian tourist Tarantella.

A French travel blogger said, “Fruit is very cheap here. I bought five boxes of fruits for 20 yuan ($2.79). In France, this would cost at least 100 yuan.”

In mid-July, over 1,000 tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Thailand visited Sanya, marking the largest inbound tour group that Hainan has received in recent years.

According to the Sanya Tourism Board, the city welcomed 319,800 overnight inbound visitors in the first six months of 2024, a 264.98 percent increase year on year. Overnight visitor numbers from Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, and Singapore have surpassed the same period in 2019.  Such a significant increase in international visitors has boosted the city’s global profile.

Sanya’s tropical coastal resources, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) wellness offerings, and ethnic cultural attractions have long been popular in the Russian tourism market. 

Ramala, a Russian tourist, came to Sanya with her two daughters and sought treatment at Sanya Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, known for its expertise in TCM. Their local pains and other symptoms were relieved after the treatment.

In 2002, Sanya Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine pioneered a “TCM wellness tourism” program, establishing the market-oriented platform of Sanya International Friendship Sanatorium of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The facility launched TCM cultural experience routes, attracting over 100,000 inbound tourists.

Leveraging its coastal and rainforest resources, Sanya has developed “tourism + sports” products that combine leisure, sightseeing, and golf. The city is also focusing on marine-themed educational programs, including island exploration and marine technology discovery, to better meet the summer vacation needs of family tourists. 

To strengthen international cooperation, Sanya has invited Southeast Asian travel agents to experience its scenic spots, high-end hotels, local cuisine, and intangible cultural heritage, building bridges for international cooperation and exchanges. 

To promote inbound tourism, Sanya continues to expand its international “circle of friends,” enriching its tourism offerings and improving services for international tourists.

Besides, Sanya has implemented multiple measures to improve the tourism consumption environment and provide more convenience for international tourists. 

This year, China’s visa-free policy was upgraded to boost inbound tourism. From February 9, visitors from 59 countries are allowed to enter Hainan visa-free for purposes including business, a tourist visit, visiting a relative, medical treatment, an exhibition or sports, and can stay in Hainan for up to 30 days. Starting from July 30, foreign tourist groups from Hong Kong and Macao SARs can enter and stay for 144 hours in Hainan province without visas.

Sanya Phoenix International Airport now offers more convenient customs procedures for inbound tourists. High-end hotels in Sanya provide menus in multiple languages, including Russian and English, while scenic spots have updated their multilingual signage systems. The government service center’s 12345 hotline operates 24/7, offering services in English, Korean, Russian, and Japanese, enhancing tourism services for international guests.

In addition, Hainan province has launched the “Hainan Trust Pay” app to provide quality and efficient consumption experiences for foreign tourists.

Since July 2023, Sanya has launched a total of 16 international routes. Its international flight network now covers 14 cities and regions, including Seoul, Jakarta, Hanoi, Almaty, Astana, Busan, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Singapore, Ulaanbaatar, Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, and London. In the first six months of 2024, international and regional flights recorded a total of 1,777 takeoffs and landings, with a passenger throughput of 248,000.

By Xu Peiyu, People’s Daily

Chinese autonomous driving technology is gaining international attention, popping up in a wide range of vehicles worldwide, such as street sweepers, massive mining trucks, shuttle buses, and taxi fleets.

The Chinese autonomous driving industry boasts a well-developed industrial chain and advanced technologies. Upon entering the global market, Chinese self-driving solutions can quickly hit the ground in destination countries. 

The rapid development of Chinese domestic automakers has paved the way for autonomous driving companies to expand their global presence. 

On July 31, Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company Pony.ai partnered with Singaporean cab operator ComfortDelGro Corporation to jointly promote the large-scale commercial operation of autonomous driving taxis. So far, the company has established partnerships for autonomous driving technology in South Korea, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On July 3, Chinese smart mobility company WeRide launched its first forward-fitted, mass-produced Level 4 autonomous driving minibus route for passenger operation on public roads in Singapore. Since its founding in 2017, WeRide has obtained autonomous driving licenses in China, the United States, the UAE, and Singapore, expanding its business into 30 cities in 7 countries around the world.

In recent years, Chinese autonomous driving companies have made steady progress in the global market. However, because operational settings vary from one country to another, they need to create partnerships and adopt different strategies that conform to specific local conditions.

Some of them focus more on technological exports, while some consider the application of technologies more important.

In March this year, Pony.ai signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, planning to set up a regional research center in the country that develops frontier autonomous driving technologies and provides customized autonomous driving solutions to the European market and users.

WeRide has started commercial operation of its robotaxis on public roads in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with local mobility platforms. Since launching its robotaxi services three years ago, the company has fulfilled more than 20,000 orders in the UAE, and is now looking to broaden its area of operation.

Besides, some Chinese autonomous driving companies sign cooperation agreements with local governments, and some have set up joint ventures with local enterprises or organizations. For instance, in October 2023, Pony.ai announced a plan to establish a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city NEOM to provide self-driving solutions for the region.

“Our collaboration models take various forms. Sometimes we send out our technology abroad, while at other times we distribute our products. This includes deploying self-driving taxi fleets and services overseas, and providing customized autonomous driving solutions for local markets and users,” said an executive with Pony.ai.

“We always maintain a high degree of flexibility and adaptability. The key is to align with local policies, market stages, and partner needs,” the executive added.

What makes China’s self-driving technologies so popular in foreign markets?

Firstly, China has a well-developed autonomous driving industrial chain, which allows for rapid application in different countries. Secondly, there is a growing demand in the global market, particularly in countries that are keen on developing autonomous driving technologies and have a significant requirement for autonomous vehicles in their public transportation sector. As a leading country in self-driving technology, China enjoys a large growth potential in the global market.

Moreover, there are broader application scenarios overseas, with promising market prospects. 

For instance, in Singapore, WeRide has partnered with a local sanitation and waste management company to conduct safety tests for its first batch of autonomous sanitation vehicles, which are expected to be put into operation by the end of this year. 

In Australia, Chinese autonomous haulage solution company EACON has established a strategic partnership with a local mining contractor to provide unmanned solutions for mining trucks, aiming to reduce the high costs associated with human labor.

Some Chinese companies have conducted data-driven adaptive training and testing for different markets in the world, which is a crucial step for localized operations of self-driving technologies. 

For example, to cope with the high temperatures in the UAE, WeRide has designed an all-round thermal management system for its onboard computing platform. Besides, in response to the corrosion threat posed by the salty and humid sea breeze in Abu Dhabi, it has developed a sensor cleaning system to ensure the stable operation of its self-driving vehicle fleets.

In recent years, China’s autonomous driving industry has experienced rapid development and provided valuable insights for other countries and regions. 

It is reported that the United Arab Emirates is currently in the “driver present” stage of self-driving testing and operations. The local government has drawn inspiration from China’s policies and systems and is actively exploring the commercialization of autonomous driving technology.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

In the era of economic globalization, what is needed is not gaps of division but bridges of communication, not iron curtains of confrontation but highways of cooperation. 

In today’s world of turmoil and transformation, mounting unilateralism, protectionism and bullying as well as backlash against globalization have added to risks and uncertainties to the global development. Countries need to enhance their ability to cooperate and achieve win-win outcomes, and stay on the right path of seeking solidarity and cooperation.

The principle of win-win cooperation underscores the imperative to actively pursue converging interests, leverage respective strengths, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation and enable each other’s success. As the world’s second-largest economy and the largest developing country, China always sticks to a development path that is peaceful, open, cooperative and inclusive.

On June 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in Beijing. He noted,  “China has been advocating a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and endeavoring to deliver on the Global Development Initiative (GDI). Our goal is to benefit all with the opportunity of development, to diversify development paths, to help all nations share development fruits, to encourage common development and prosperity for all countries in the global village, and to turn win-win into a solid consensus.”

Opening up is the defining feature of Chinese modernization. China remains committed to promoting reform through opening up, enhancing its capacity for opening up while expanding cooperation with other countries, and sharing development opportunities and dividends with the world.

China pursues high-level institutional opening up and maintains a management system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list for foreign investment. It works to remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector and strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights. China’s global ranking for its business environment has risen to 31st place in the latest ranking from 96th. 

China leads the world in total volume of trade in goods, and it is a major destination for global investment. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, the country’s goods trade volume expanded by 6.2 percent year-on-year to reach 24.83 trillion yuan ($3.46 trillion) in the first seven months of this year. It was a result of China’s efforts to further expand high-level opening-up, and also brought new opportunities to countries around the world.

China firmly opposes all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, continuously promotes trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, focuses on resolving structural challenges that hinder the healthy development of the global economy, and maintains the stability and smooth flows of the global industrial and supply chains.

Facts have proved that unilateralism and protectionism win no support, and win-win cooperation is the common choice of the vast majority of countries.

On March 27, Xi met with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in Beijing, during which he stressed that economic globalization may encounter headwinds, but the historical trend will not change. There is no way out for “decoupling and breaking the chain,” and opening-up and cooperation are the only choice. Rutte said that “decoupling and breaking the chain” is not a policy choice of the Dutch government, since any act undermining China’s development interests will only boomerang.

On April 16, Xi met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing, during which he said that China’s export of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products has not only enriched global supply and eased global inflationary pressure, but also made important contribution to the global response to climate change and the green and low-carbon transition. Scholz said that Germany opposes protectionism and supports free trade.

From May 8 to 10, Xi paid a state visit to Hungary, during which he held talks with Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest. Orban said during his talks with Xi that his country does not identify with the rhetoric of so-called “overcapacity” or “de-risking.” Hungary is willing to strengthen multilateral communication and cooperation with China and will not be disturbed by any force.

Just as China has reached its current position and integrated into the world through reform and opening up, it will undoubtedly march forward and benefit the globe by deepening reform across the board. 

The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has outlined a grand blueprint for further deepening reform across the board to advance Chinese modernization, emphasizing the importance to improve high-level institutions and mechanisms for opening up to the outside world.

In the future, China will steadily expand institutional opening up, deepen the foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

China will safeguard the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, actively participate in the reform of global economic governance, and contribute to the public good in the world.

China will advance the GDI, scale up input in global development cooperation, and help fellow developing countries build capacity for self-generated development. It will work with other developing countries to make the pie of economic globalization bigger and share it fairly, and pursue more adequate and balanced development. It will continue to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.

Moving forward, China is ready to be a companion of all countries on the path to modernization, and welcomes them to board the “express train” of Chinese modernization.

By Zhang Tianpei, People’s Daily

The Exit-Entry Administration of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau and the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection have been enhancing visa services and entry-exit processes to welcome foreign friends.

These efforts include issuing China’s first e-visa, improving the process for visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships, and enhancing customs clearance support for the 144-hour visa-free transit policy.

According to an official with the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection, from January to July this year, Shanghai ports saw an influx of nearly 2.36 million foreign nationals, which is almost 2.6 times higher than that during the same period last year.

On July 11, when the Adora Magic City, China’s first domestically-built large cruise ship, arrived at Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, all immigration inspection channels were opened at the same time. It took less than a minute for a Philippine passenger to clear customs.

It is reported that the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection has continuously improved its inspection process: foreign cruise passengers are no longer required to leave fingerprint biometric information; passengers entering and exiting China by cruise ship on the same voyage are exempted from stamping entry and exit clearance stamps or filling in foreign entry papers. These measures have greatly enhanced the convenience and comfort of cruise travel for passengers.

This year, Shanghai has served as the home port for six large cruise ships traveling abroad.

Since Shanghai piloted the 15-day visa-free entry policy for international cruise tour groups in October 2016, it has attracted several internationally renowned cruise companies, with an annual average growth of 10 percent in the number of cruise passengers it received. 

According to an official with the Pujiang Station of Immigration Inspection, Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection, as of July 31, more than 230 international cruise ships had been inspected at Shanghai’s cruise ports this year, with nearly 50,000 inbound and outbound foreign tourists.

To further advance the digital transformation of ordinary visas and streamline the application process for port visas, China has launched a port e-visa service in Shanghai for foreigners invited by enterprises at China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lin-gang Special Area from July 12. This initiative aims to provide greater convenience for foreigners coming into China and improve border inspection efficiency.

Over 1,300 eligible enterprises at Lin-gang Special Area have completed registration procedures. They can now submit applications on an e-government platform on behalf of applicants, and the whole process can be completed online.

“Thanks to the strong support of Shanghai’s port visa authorities, we were able to bring important international clients to China for a conference,” read a thank-you letter recently received by the Exit-Entry Administration of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau from a company in Xuzhou, east China’s Jiangsu province.

In May this year, the company invited over 1,200 clients from 62 countries worldwide to gather in Xuzhou for a conference. However, due to time constraints, some of the clients were unable to complete the visa application process at Chinese embassies or consulates abroad, making it difficult for them to join the conference.

Upon learning the situation, the Exit-Entry Administration of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau immediately coordinated with their counterparts in Xuzhou to remotely verify the company’s relevant documents. They also set up a “green channel” at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, giving port visas to 23 clients of the company.

In recent years, with the implementation of policies like the 144-hour visa-free transit and continuous innovation in related services, it has become increasingly convenient for foreigners to visit China. In the first half of this year, over 20,000 individuals took advantage of the 144-hour visa-free transit policy to enter Shanghai ports in the first six months of this year.

Recently, a one-stop comprehensive service center for foreigners was set up at Terminal 2 of Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

“Can you help me set up Alipay?” Smith, a traveler from the United States, asked a staff member at the service center. 

Shortly after, Zhu Lin, who was on duty that day, helped Smith link his bank card to the online payment platform and explained to him how to use ride-hailing apps and local SIM cards.

“When foreign travelers, especially short-term visitors, come to China, their most urgent needs are making phone calls, accessing the internet, and mobile payments. These can all be addressed here in one stop,” said Ma Hualin, operation manager of Shanghai Foreign Service Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Donghao Lansheng Group. As of July 29, the service center had served 14,854 foreigners, Ma added.