Nigeria Times

By Zhang Zhiwen, Ren Haoyu, People’s Daily

The 15th China Trade Fair Dubai 2023 recently concluded in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Lasting three days, the trade fair covered an exhibition area of 70,000 square meters and was joined by nearly 2,500 Chinese foreign trade companies.

The event focused on eight major areas including building materials and home furnishings, textiles and clothing, household appliances and consumer electronics, industrial equipment and components, and power and new energy.

Business representatives from various countries gathered at the event, which reflected the continuous warming of China’s economic and trade relations with Middle Eastern countries.

In recent years, Middle Eastern countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been vigorously developing renewable energy. At the trade fair, energy-saving and environmentally friendly products and technologies showcased by Chinese companies were highly welcomed.

For instance, in the power and new energy exhibition area, Chinese products such as electric vehicle charging poles, outdoor portable power sources, and solar charging devices attracted numerous buyers.

“Middle Eastern countries are actively promoting the development of the electric vehicle industry, and charging stations are essential supporting facilities,” said Li Xiaoping, general manager of Chargeland, a new energy tech firm based in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province.

The company has brought AC charging stations, integrated DC charging stations, and supercharging stations to the trade fair, providing clients with personalized and customized charging stations and multilingual charging platforms that meet various demands in different scenarios.

At the booth of Guangdong O’DAS Household Technology Co., Ltd., visitors experienced the energy-saving and environmentally friendly doors and windows produced by the Chinese firm.

“They have a strong will to cooperate. We have received many inquiries every day,” said Tu Yaxiang, who’s in charge of the company’s overseas business.

Lyrasom,a battery energy storage companies located in Huizhou, Guangdong province, showcased lithium-ion batteries, home energy storage systems, and integrated power solutions at the exhibition.

“By participating in the trade show, we have exchanged contact information with many buyers, and some have even placed orders. We look forward to contributing to the green and low-carbon development in the region,” said He Chunmei, head of the company.

At the home textile exhibition area, gel pillows and mattresses exhibited by Chinese companies attracted the attention of many buyers, who eagerly learned about the raw materials and performance of these products and expressed their willingness to cooperate with their Chinese counterparts.

“My factory uses a lot of Chinese equipment and raw materials,” said a buyer from Egypt. He hoped to find more high-quality raw materials at the trade show and discover new business opportunities in the baby products industry.

He noted, “In the Middle East, many products, from daily necessities to industrial production, come from China. China’s reliable supply channels have made significant contributions to maintaining the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.”

“From smart homes to children’s toys, and to textile products, Chinese companies have brought more new products and technologies that meet the demands of each market,” said Sachu Manwani, general secretary of the Textile Merchants Group, the apex body of Dubai-based wholesale textile merchants.”

Through the exhibition, many companies have engaged in in-depth discussions and negotiations, leading to the continuous expansion of business opportunities between Middle Eastern countries and China, he added.

Bahri, a buyer from Oman, told People’s Daily that China’s manufacturing industry has a solid foundation, and many products have been advancing technology-wise.

When doing business with the Middle East, Chinese companies would optimize their products according to customers’ needs, resulting in continuously improving market acceptance, Bahri said.

Another buyer from the UAE noted that in recent years, Chinese foreign trade companies have grown rapidly. They have not only improved the quality of their products and diversified the styles, but also strengthened their capabilities in communicating with foreign partners, the buyer added.

Pan Jianjun, chairman of Meorient           , the organizer of the event, noted that after years of development, the China Trade Fair Dubai has become an effective platform for deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Middle Eastern countries.

“China plays a crucial role in global trade,” said Sadiq, a researcher at Saudi Arabia’s Center for Research and Intercommunication Knowledge. He emphasized that China attaches great importance to technological innovation, leading to the continuous emergence of new products and technologies. This not only drives the country’s own economic development but also provides assistance to the global economic recovery, the researcher added.

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

China and the U.S. should faithfully implement the consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco, and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of their bilateral ties with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world.

In December 1978, China and the U.S. issued the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, announcing both countries’ decision to recognize each other and to establish diplomatic relations as of January 1, 1979..

2024 will mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

At this key juncture linking the past and future, it’s important that the two countries look back on their history of bilateral relations over the past decades to seek inspiration and guidance, which is of great significance for improving and developing their relations.

In the 1970s, the leaders of China and the U.S., with the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples at heart, made a historic decision with farsighted strategic vision and extraordinary political wisdom to break the ice that caused mutual isolation between China and the U.S.

After that, they continued to normalize the China-U.S. relations through unremitting efforts, opening a new chapter in the development of China-U.S. relations.

Over the past decades, China-U.S. relations have made historic progress despite twists and turns, bringing tremendous benefits to the two peoples and making important contributions to world peace, stability and prosperity.

History has fully proven that for two large countries like China and the U.S., turning their back on each other is not an option, it is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other, and conflict and confrontation have unbearable consequences for both sides.

The two countries must recognize the irrefutable truth that China and the U.S. both gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.

Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the lessons learned from 50 years of China-U.S. relations and the conflicts between major countries in history, which should be the direction of joint efforts between the two countries.

About a month ago, Xi and Biden held a historic meeting in San Francisco to explore the right way for the two major countries to get along in the new era, establishing the “San Francisco vision” oriented toward the future.

From an overall and strategic perspective, Xi pointed out at the meeting that China and the U.S. should jointly develop a right perception, jointly manage disagreements effectively, jointly advance mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly shoulder responsibilities as major countries and jointly promote people-to-people exchanges. These are the five pillars that have laid out a roadmap for the sound, steady and sustained growth of China-US relations.

The Xi-Biden meeting has consolidated the momentum of stabilizing China-U.S. relations and injected much-needed certainty and stability into the world of changes and chaos, therefore receiving widespread applause in both countries and the international community.

In recent years, China-U.S. relations have encountered serious difficulties. The root cause of that is the serious misperceptions some people in the U.S. have regarding China and the China-U.S. relations.

China and the U.S. are two major countries with different histories, cultures, social systems and development paths, and there have been and will continue to be differences between the two countries. However, such differences should not become an obstacle to growing China-U.S. relations. The two sides should look for ways to build bridges to help them walk toward each other.

The two sides must appreciate each other’s principles and red lines, and refrain from flip-flopping, being provocative, and crossing the lines. They should have more communication, more dialogues and more consultations, and calmly handle their differences as well as accidents.

Win-win cooperation is the trend of the times and should also be an inherent property of China-U.S. relations.

China maintains that the common interests of the two countries far outweigh their differences, and the respective success of China and the U.S. is an opportunity, rather than a challenge, to each other.

The economic and trade ties between China and the U.S., as an important part of China-U.S. relations, have delivered many tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Over the past 45 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and the U.S., the annual bilateral trade between the two countries has grown to $760 billion and the two countries’ two-way investment reached a cumulative total of over $260 billion.

China and the U.S. share broad common interests across many areas. They should work together to make the list of cooperation longer and the “cake” of cooperation bigger.

The foundation of China-U.S. relations is in the societies of the two countries, its hope lies in the two peoples, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.

During his visit to the U.S. in November 2023, Xi fondly recounted his friendship with the American people at a welcome dinner hosted by friendly organizations in the U.S.

In his speech delivered at the dinner, Xi emphasized that the foundation of China-U.S. relations was laid by the two peoples, the door of China-U.S. relations was opened by the two peoples, the stories of China-U.S. relations are written by the two peoples, and the future of China-U.S. relations will be created by the two peoples. His remarks deeply resonated with both Chinese and Americans.

The China-U.S. relations are steeped in history and built on solid popular support. It is the reaching out to each other by the two peoples that has time and again brought China-U.S. relations from a low ebb back onto the right track.

The two sides should build more bridges and pave more roads for people-to-people exchanges, promote people-to-people bonds, and jointly write new stories of friendship in the new era.

China-U.S. relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world today. Whether China and the U.S. can work hand in hand to meet challenges together concerns the interests of the two peoples and the future of humanity.

The only right choice that serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples and meets the common expectation of the international community is to faithfully implement the consensus reached by their heads of state in San Francisco and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable growth of the China-U.S. relations.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)

By Peng Xunwen

If plastic waste is dumped into the sea, it will gradually break down into microplastics, exerting continuous and permanent adverse impacts on the environment. How can plastic waste be recycled and turned into useful resources?

The Blue Circle environmental initiative, a marine plastic waste program launched in east China’s Zhejiang province, has given the answer to the question.

The program uses blockchain technology and the Internet of Things to comprehensively monitor the entire lifecycle of plastic waste, encompassing collection, regeneration, re-manufacturing and re-sale.

This year, the program was honored with the 2023 Champions of the Earth award – the United Nations’ most prestigious environmental recognition – by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), from a pool of 2,500 nominations.

During the twilight hours, fishing boats returned from the sea and docked on a beach of Huangjiao Island of Taizhou, Zhejiang province. A captain surnamed Chen, while unloading the catch, instructed his crew to empty the used fishing nets, foam plastics, plastic bottles, plastic bags, and marine debris collected along with the fish out of the boat, and send them to a nearby place called Xiaolan Zhijia, which literally means little blue house.

Xiaolan Zhijia is a collection and storage site for marine debris. It collects, sorts and compacts waste materials collected from the sea. To encourage wider participation, Xiaolan Zhijia offers much higher prices for marine debris compared to regular waste.

At the port of Jiaojiang district, Taizhou, there is a facility in the shape of a box. It is called  “Ocean Cloud Warehouse” and is an intelligent processing system that can sort, temporarily store, purify, and pre-process waste. The volume of marine debris is compressed by up to 90 percent in the warehouse after crushing, which significantly lowers transportation costs.

The collected marine waste will be sent to Veolia Huafei Polymer Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. located in Anji county, Huzhou, Zhejiang province. The company is a member of a non-profit organization called “Blue Alliance” and has been awarded the certification for marine plastic recycling by an international accreditation body.

According to Fu Xianwei, the company’s operations director, the company has basically achieved automated production, and its products are standardized and high-quality.

Taking plastic bottles as an example, Fu told People’s Daily that the bottles are sorted, thoroughly cleaned, melted and reshaped into plastic pellets, so that they can be recycled.

So far, Veolia Huafei Polymer Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. has processed over 10 million of plastic bottles collected from the ocean. By adjusting the granulation technique, the company is able to produce recycled plastic particles of various grades, including those suitable for food contact.

Products made from marine plastic waste have higher added value. Hangzhou Xinsheng Printing and Dyeing Co., Ltd., also a member of the “Blue Alliance”, transforms marine plastic particles into various fabrics.

Fu Xiaoling, marketing director of the company, said, “Thanks to the technological breakthroughs we have made, these fabrics and garments made from marine plastic are no inferior to other recycled clothing in terms of quality and performance, and they are highly sought after in the international market.”

Products made from marine plastic are stamped with a unique QR code bearing the words “Produced by Blue Alliance” before leaving the factory. This serves as an exclusive identification for each product.

After a People’s Daily reporter scanned the QR code on a document bag made from marine debris, a picture popped up on the phone, which said the document bag contained 6.5 grams of marine plastic and the purchase of it would reduce the production of 0.32 plastic bottles and 8.45 grams of carbon emission. The entire process of how the raw material of the bag was collected and made into a commodity was shown on the phone, too.

Chen Guanghui, co-founder of Zhejiang-based technology company VisionBlue and one of the initiators of the Blue Circle initiative, noted that many domestic and international companies are willing to purchase higher-priced marine plastic recycled particles and products in order to fulfill their social responsibilities.

However, it is difficult to determine whether these plastic particles actually come from marine plastic waste with traditional methods. Therefore, the company has developed a blockchain-based visual traceability system to solve this problem.

So far, 237 industrial enterprises and 10,200 ships in Zhejiang have joined the Blue Circle initiative. The program has also been participated by 61,800 people living along the coast, including seniors, fishermen, and volunteers.

The program has collected and processed 10,900 tons of marine waste, including 2,254 tons of plastic waste, resulting in a reduction of approximately 2,930 tons of carbon emissions.

Frontline collectors have increased their annual income by about 13,000 yuan ($1,845.81) thanks to the program, and fishermen have obtained over 100 million yuan in low-interest green loans through their green credits of waste collection.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China received about 1.6 million patent applications in 2022, ranking first in the world, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2023 report recently issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

According to WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2023, China ranked 12th globally, with six indicators ranking first in the world. Besides, the 24 world-level science and technology clusters in China also for the first time made China the top in the world in the relevant ranking.

All these figures prove that China, which has joined the ranks of the world’s innovators, is still improving its capability in sci-tech innovation.

Innovation is the primary driving force behind development and the strategic underpinning for building a modernized economy.

Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery, China’s economy has rebounded and improved. The country is making solid progress in promoting high-quality development and advancing the construction of a modern industrial system. Furthermore, significant breakthroughs have been achieved in sci-tech innovation.

According to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics this August, the new kinetic energy index of China’s economic development (taking 2014 as 100) was 766.8 in 2022, up 28.4 percent from a year ago. The innovation-driven index was 336.3, an increase of 15.5 percent over the previous year. The knowledge capability index stood at 193.4, up 5.9 percent year-on-year.

China boasts the world’s largest talent pool with the most complete categories, with the total number of talent resources reaching 220 million. The number of R&D personnel is expected to surpass 6 million in 2022.

International observers said that China has continuously enhanced its capability in sci-tech innovation to support high-quality development, and promoted a virtuous cycle of academics, innovation, and production.

As innovation-driven development advances and sci-tech innovation continues to empower the real economy, new industries and new driving forces are constantly growing and expanding, thereby enhancing their role in driving economic growth.

From January to October this year, China’s investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.1 percent year-on-year, outpacing overall investment by 8.2 percentage points. The industrial added value of automobile manufacturing grew by 11.3 percent, while the figure in electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing increased by 13.6 percent, compared to the same period last year.

Innovation remains at the heart of China’s modernization drive. The innovation and commercialization of new technologies have become important driving forces for economic development.

Thanks to the innovation and application of advanced technologies, the Chinese economy has constantly opened up new fields and new tracks. A number of industries with long industrial chains, high technology content, and strong driving capabilities have accelerated their development. The rapid growth in China’s exports of new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products in recent years is clear proof of this.

China will continue to be an economy that creates huge opportunities for bilateral cooperation, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of the Republic of Singapore Lawrence Wong in Beijing. He noted that China boasts a huge economy with many advantages in areas such as advanced manufacturing and green economy, and also possesses a vast market.

Huge opportunities lie in China’s fertile ground for innovation. Unilever has established its Asian R&D center in north China’s Tianjin municipality; Schneider Electric has inaugurated its automation R&D center in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu province; Honeywell has chosen Shanghai as the location for its global automotive parts R&D center; Volkswagen has announced its plan to develop and produce electric vehicles at a new base in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province.

The Chinese market not only offers a large consumer base for multinational corporations, but also serves as a fertile ground for the incubation, roadshow, and promotion of new technologies and models.

More and more heads of multinational companies investing in China believe that many technological innovations originate from China first and then go to the rest of the world. China has become a breeding ground for large-scale application of emerging technologies.

China’s sci-tech innovation not only provides sustained momentum for its own economic growth, but also brings tangible development opportunities to the rest of the world.

China has established sci-tech cooperation with over 160 countries and regions, and signed 116 inter-governmental agreements on sci-tech cooperation, creating a new pattern of all-round, multi-level, and wide-ranging open cooperation in the field of science and technology.

China has also signed inter-governmental agreements on sci-tech cooperation with over 80 Belt and Road countries. Together, they have established more than 50 joint laboratories, built over 20 agricultural technology demonstration centers and some 70 overseas industrial parks.

Additionally, China has set up 10 overseas science and education cooperation centers and nine transnational technology transfer centers with relevant countries.

Denis Simon, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, noted that China’s technological achievements are remarkable and playing an increasingly crucial role in the global innovation landscape. China has become an important participant in cutting-edge innovation on the international stage and a significant contributor to solving global challenges, Simon added.

China will continue to deeply implement the innovation-driven development strategy, integrate sci-tech innovation resources, lead the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries, accelerate the formation of new productive forces, and stimulate stronger advantages and momentum, so as to drive high-quality economic development with innovation.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, held talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee at the premise of the CPV Central Committee on Dec. 12, local time.

The two sides announced a new characterization of the relationship for the two parties and two countries, working together for a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance on the basis of deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The announcement sent out a positive signal of solidarity and friendship between the two parties and two countries, as well as their firm commitment to jointly step on the path of socialism and modernization.

It is believed that with the joint efforts of the two sides, China-Vietnam relations will enter a new stage of greater political mutual trust, more substantive security cooperation, deeper mutually beneficial cooperation, more solid popular foundation, closer multilateral coordination and collaboration, and more proper management of differences.

China and Vietnam will achieve more progress in their socialist causes, and make new contributions to stability, development and prosperity of the region and the entire world.

China and Vietnam have supported each other in their struggle for national independence and liberation, and learned from each other’s causes of reform and opening up and Doi Moi. The characterization “camaraderie plus brotherhood” well captures the profound friendship between the two countries.

No matter how the global environment has changed, the two parties and countries have worked together to uphold peace and tranquility, pursue development and cooperation, and promote prosperity and progress. They have found a promising path of jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi proposed several suggestions, charting the course on building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.

To build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, it is important to keep to the right political direction, deepen mutual trust on security, upgrade practical cooperation, increase input to enhance popular foundation, coordinate closely on international and regional issues, and manage differences on maritime issues.

Trong noted that Vietnam stands ready to work with China to build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, follow the vision of making progress on six fronts, bolster cooperation across the political, economy and trade, security and people-to-people fields, and develop a paradigm of mutually beneficial cooperation. This serves the common interests of the two parties, two governments and two peoples.

The Vietnamese side said Vietnam is firmly committed to the one-China principle, opposes interference in China’s internal affairs by any forces, and supports the important global initiatives proposed by Xi including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative

The two sides agreed to issue a joint statement on further deepening and elevating the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

Both China and Vietnam both see each other’s development as opportunities for their own development. China is now striving to build itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts by pursuing Chinese modernization.

During the visit, the general secretaries of the two parties jointly witnessed the documents signed on bilateral cooperation in 30 plus areas, including Belt and Road cooperation, quarantine and inspection, development cooperation, digital economy, green development, transportation, subnational cooperation, defense, law enforcement and security cooperation and maritime cooperation. Such pragmatic cooperation, which is comprehensive, stable and sustainable, will enable both sides to jointly embark on a new chapter of modernization.

China and Vietnam have unique advantages of following the trend of the times, geographic proximity and shared cultural affinity in building a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

The two sides should carry forward the traditional friendship forged by older-generation leaders, build a community with a shared future together, and make steady progress in their modernization drives, so as to achieve win-win outcomes and common success, benefit the two peoples, and contribute to regional peace and prosperity.

By People’s Daily reporters

The central economic work conference was recently held in Beijing. The conference comprehensively summarized China’s economic work in 2023, analyzed the current economic situation and made arrangements for 2024.

International experts interviewed by People’s Daily highly evaluated China’s achievements in economic development, stating that the overall trend of economic recovery and long-term improvement remains unchanged.

They believe that China’s efforts to promote high-quality development will inject more stability and momentum into the global economic recovery.

Confronted with a complex and challenging international situation this year, China’s macroeconomy has logged a continuous and steady recovery against the backdrop of the weakening momentum of global economic recovery, and its high-quality development has been steadily advancing.

In the first three quarters, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year, marking the strongest performance among the world’s major economies.

As the world economy faces downward pressure, it was no easy feat for China to achieve a 5.2 percent GDP growth in the first three quarters, said Enrique Dussel, head of the China-Mexico Studies Center at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

He further emphasized that China has led the construction of a modern industrial system through scientific and technological innovation, vigorously promoted new industrialization, and actively nurtured strategic emerging industries such as electronic information, and these efforts have provided new impetus for the country’s economic growth.

Marsela Musabelliu, executive director of the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies, recently visited China and was deeply impressed by the country’s economic development.

She said that China boasts a super-large market and the most complete industrial system in the world. Currently, China is accelerating scientific and technological innovation and constructing a modern infrastructure system, including advanced transportation and logistics networks as well as the development of smart cities.

These efforts have facilitated the flow of personnel, goods, and services, further unleashing productivity, she added.

International institutions have recently raised their expectations for China’s economic growth, saying its growth in 2024 is expected to surpass this year’s and China still remains a key engine of global economic growth.

The International Monetary Fund predicted that China’s contribution to global economic growth will exceed 30 percent this year.

Hsia Hua Sheng, a financial expert with Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation, noted that China is accelerating the creation of a new development pattern, promoting high-quality development and expanding high-level opening up.

“China has made remarkable achievements in the fields of green energy, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce. These industries driven by scientific and technological innovation have played a positive role in promoting the sustained and stable growth of the Chinese economy,” the expert explained.

China’s economy has not only achieved surprising growth but also steadily improved in terms of its quality, said Eduardo Regalado, a researcher at the International Policy Research Center of Cuba.

He highlighted that stable policies and continuously unleashed the potential of domestic demand have provided strong support for China’s economic development. China has shown outstanding performance and gained a competitive edge in areas such as green economy and digital economy, particularly the rapid growth of exports in new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products, Regalado added.

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Center, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, noted that the development of digital trade has created new business opportunities.

She believed that China’s efforts to promote the development of digital trade have had a positive impact on the world, especially on developing countries. With its rich experience in digital trade, China can provide valuable insights and assistance to enterprises in other developing countries, she remarked.

The central economic work conference stressed that high-level opening up will be expanded, which further enhanced the international community’s confidence in sharing China’s development opportunities.

This year, China has hosted a series of economic and trade events, providing more market opportunities, investment opportunities, and growth opportunities for countries worldwide.

These efforts demonstrated China’s unwavering determination in pursuing high-level opening up and following economic globalization.

The just-concluded sixth China International Import Expo saw a total of $78.41 billion worth of tentative deals reached for one-year purchases of goods and services, setting a record high. The inaugural China International Supply Chain Expo hosted over 360 matchmaking and exchange activities, resulting in the signing of cooperation agreements and intentional agreements worth over 150 billion yuan ($20.99 billion).

Regalado stated that China’s efforts to promote high-level opening up and improve the business environment, as well as share its vast market with countries around the world, have not only provided impetus for China’s economic growth but also brought opportunities for global economic recovery.

Recently, the executive director of the Manchester China Forum Rhys Whalley visited the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He noted that the global economic recovery is currently weak, with rising protectionism and unilateralism.

As an important engine driving global economic growth, China’s economic rebound is boosting confidence in global growth, Whalley said.

By Ding Yiting, People’s Daily

The construction industry is one of the pillar industries of China’s national economy, with a total output value exceeding 31 trillion yuan ($4.34 trillion) in 2022, providing employment for over 52 million people.

However, the construction industry, as it continues to embrace rapid development, still needs to further enhance its quality despite its huge size.

In recent years, the Chinese construction industry has seized the opportunities brought by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, striving to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption. As a result, it has achieved continuous transformation and upgrading.

Near Muztagh Ata on the Pamir Plateau in the west of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, there stand a row of container-style houses – the first “zero-altitude astronomical observation station” of China, which was officially delivered in 2023.

Although situated at an altitude of over 4,500 meters with an outdoor oxygen concentration of only about 55 percent compared to the plains, people inside the facility would not experience symptoms of altitude sickness such as headaches or insomnia.

The astronomical observation station uses pressurization and other technologies, which means improving the airtightness of the building and injecting air into the interior, to adjust the indoor key human settlement environment indicators to the low altitude level in the plain area, said Wang Kaiqiang, head of the China Construction Institute of Advanced Technology.

To build this facility, the project team has overcome the challenge of high pressure, Wang noted. “While a regular building needs to withstand a few hundred kilograms of pressure per square meter, the number has to reach over 4 tons for ‘zero-altitude’ buildings,” he explained.

“‘Zero-altitude’ buildings can ensure healthy conditions for people living on the plateau. Currently, the technology has been applied in various scenarios such as hotels and residential buildings, with a cumulative application area of over 2,000 square meters. In the future, with customized and one-stop design services, the market will become even bigger,” Wang told People’s Daily.

In Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning province, a 300-meter-high office building is currently underway. Positioning and measurement technicians working on the top floor of the structure are equipped with a “mighty tool” the size of a stationery box – a high-precision positioning receiver enabled by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) for ultra-high-rise, which is capable of achieving accurate positioning at a height of 600 meters with an error margin of only 2 millimeters.

The accuracy of the positioning measurement in construction is crucial for the overall quality and safety of buildings. In the past, this part of work often relied on instruments such as laser plumb bobs and steel rulers. However, buildings above 300 meters are more likely to be affected by strong winds, turbulence and other influences, and violent building oscillations would lead to cumulative errors.

“In previous years, we have successfully overcome the challenge of high-precision measurement of ultra-high-rise buildings through independent research and development. This year, our third-generation equipment has improved its anti-interference capability and stability, enabling precision measurement at an altitude of over 1,000 meters,” said Zhang Shengliang, a surveying and mapping expert with China Construction First Group.

According to Zhang, this device has been exported and applied in the construction of over 50 ultra-high-rise projects worldwide.

In recent years, China’s construction industry has accelerated its deep integration with advanced manufacturing and new-generation information technology, leading to the emergence of new equipment and continuous breakthroughs in new technologies. By adhering to innovation-driven development, construction companies have constantly expanded the market and improved quality and efficiency.

Another important direction for the transformation and upgrading of the industry is the accelerated development of green buildings and construction methods, which aim to achieve green and low-carbon development of structures throughout their entire lifecycle.

At the construction site of the composite modular construction global R&D center of China Construction Science and Technology Group in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, structures are built like building blocks without supporting templates, tying steel bars. Electromechanical devices, tubes, wires, and curtain walls have all been prefabricated at factories.

“The workload of on-site construction has been reduced to 20 percent of the original, cutting the construction period by half. Additionally, there has been a 70 percent decrease in the emissions of construction waste. The overall cost still remains the same,” said Fan Zesen, deputy general manager of China Construction Science and Technology Group.

The construction becomes greener, and the later operation of such structures is also energy-efficient. According to Fan, the project adopts passive techniques to lower the heating and cooling demands of buildings through various means, thus reducing energy consumption.

Additionally, high-performance energy systems are utilized, which store and flexibly use solar power generated by rooftop photovoltaic panels. With a total area of 1200 square meters, these panels generate 220,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, achieving a renewable energy utilization rate of 50 percent, Fan said.

As of the end of 2022, the total area of green buildings constructed nationwide exceeded 10 billion square meters. In 2022, newly constructed green buildings in urban areas accounted for around 90 percent of all new constructions.

Chinese construction companies have accelerated their process of going global, expanding into new regions and enhancing their presence in the global market.

With a total area of approximately 505,000 square meters, the Central Business District project in Egypt’s new administrative capital is progressing smoothly. The first section of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project in Bangladesh, spanning about 170 kilometers, has been put into operation, which is expected to benefit 80 million people directly.

In 2022, the fulfilled turnover of contracts for overseas construction projects by Chinese companies amounted to approximately $154.99 billion, growing 32.9 percent from 2012.

“The construction industry urgently needs to improve the level of industrialization, digitization and intelligence, shifting from quantity expansion to quality improvement, and embarking on a new path of connotative and intensive development,” said Jing Wan, vice president of the China Construction Industry Association.