Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Xiangzhou District Chief Liu Qiying chaired an investment promotion conference on Nov 8 to prime its interactions at the China-Latin America & Caribbean International Exposition, set to open the following day.

The expo will run through Nov 11 to enhance high-level bilateral exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between China, Latin America, and Caribbean states.

Xiangzhou District, lying in the heart of Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong Province, has cutting-edge industrial advantages and strong innovation capability which impressed the business representatives taking part the event. 

At the conference Liu pointed out that Xiangzhou, Zhuhai's main urban area, is home to more than a half of the city's economy and population. One of the earliest districts to develop, it has laid a solid foundation with complete supporting facilities over the decades, creating leisure, tourism and investment attractions.

It was underlined that Zhuhai's identity as the Pearl River Delta National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone was emphasized in Liu's speech.

Figures show that R&D spending in Zhuhai accounts for 3.2 percent of the city's GDP, and that its per capita ratio for invention patent applications ranks highly in all of Guangdong. Among other positive indicators it's noteworthy that Xiangzhou contributes 60 percent of Zhuhai's R&D input and is the main force of innovative development in the city.

Investment promotion conference for Xiangzhou District on Nov 8 [Photo by Chen Lin / Zhuhai Daily]

According to statistics, its print companies manufacture over 70 percent of the color ribbons, 60 percent of the compatible ink cartridges, and 25 percent of recycled laser toner cartridges in the global market.

Meanwhile, Xiangzhou-based Gree Electric Appliances has grown from a major Chinese home appliances manufacturer to one of the world's largest refrigerator suppliers. It set up a factory in Manaus, Brazil in 1999 and is now one of the world's top 500 companies.

Always riding on innovation tides, Xiangzhou has attracted an increasing number of quality projects and key industries. They include smart homes, smart equipment, high-end new information products, biomedicine, smart grids, printing consumables, and office automation.

In the first nine months of this year Xiangzhou attracted 22 new projects, including one by injection machinery maker Borche Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd. It is also cooperating with Japanese multinational giant Mitsubishi in 3D printing technology. In addition, Gree CNC Machine Research Institute Co and Zhuhai Kneron AI Technology Co will soon be moving to the district to absorb and profit from its innovative environment.

From January to September this year, Xiangzhou achieved more than 78.8 billion yuan ($11.9 billion) in total import and export volume, a year-on-year increase of 6.26 percent. Official reports also revealed that foreign investment of $538 million arrived in Xiangzhou during the period, 33 percent of Zhuhai's total.