Explainer | How Guangzhou’s tech, innovation mega projects aim to bolster its role in the bay area

The provincial capital of Guangdong is actively implementing reforms to transform itself into a competitive and innovation-driven city
Guangzhou was appointed last year to be the first city in China to develop a pilot zone for blockchain technology

Guangzhou

Cheryl Heng

Published: 3:59pm, 11 Jan 2021

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Ever since blueprints for the Greater Bay Area were first unveiled, Guangzhou has been actively implementing reforms to transform itself into a competitive and innovation-driven city.

With road maps first introduced in 2019, the bay area is China’s ambitious plan to integrate Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong province into an economic and innovation powerhouse by 2035.

Many of Guangzhou’s mega projects laid out in the past year have been designed to match up to Beijing’s expectations for the bay area. As the city pushes for development, particularly in the areas of innovation, new infrastructure and the digital economy, here are some of the major completed or ongoing projects Guangzhou has implemented in the past year.

China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City

Launched in 2010, the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City marks another flagship venture between the two nations. The 123-square kilometre project sits in Huangpu district, a half-hour drive from Guangzhou’s city centre. It was promoted to a national-level project in 2018, signalling Beijing’s commitment to the venture.

Last August, the Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong provincial government approved a 15-year master development plan for the knowledge city, focusing on efforts to build an economic hub home to top talent and knowledge-based industries including biomedicine, intelligent manufacturing and information technology.

The knowledge city signed 135 major projects last year, amounting to over 170 billion yuan (US$26.3 billion) worth of investments. Among the slew of agreements were Baidu’s Apollo R&D Centre, a smart vehicle research and testing centre, and Xpeng’s smart production site, which would have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles upon completion next year.

Other joint ventures between China and Singapore include the Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-city and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity.

Guangzhou Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy Experimental Zone

Plans for a pilot zone to develop Guangzhou’s digital economy were first approved last January by the leading group set up to spur construction in the bay area. The 81-kilometre experimental zone is divided into three key areas: the Guangzhou International Finance Town, the Pazhou Core Area and the Yuzhu Area.

By 2030, the goal is for the zone to become a leading hub for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and digital economies and support the construction of a digital Silk Road – a subset of the Belt and Road Initiative where China provides technology and telecommunications support to its recipient states.

The Belt and Road Initiative itself is a signature project of President Xi Jinping, aimed at developing trade, investment and infrastructure along both the ancient maritime and land Silk Roads.

The Pazhou Core Area will foster digital technology industries and serve as headquarters for internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Fosun and Xiaomi, while the Yuzhu Area will be a cluster for artificial intelligence, 5G and blockchain.

Guangzhou Nansha Science City

To achieve the Greater Bay Area’s goal of becoming an international innovation and technology hub, Guangzhou is building a 99-square kilometre science city, expected to open in 2023.

The Nansha Science City will add to the bay area’s cluster of science parks – Shenzhen’s Guangming Science City, Dongguan’s Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Park and Zhongshan’s Cuiheng City.

The Nansha Science City is being jointly built by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangzhou municipal government, with its primary feature being the Pearl Science Park.

While the science city will build on existing technological infrastructure and serve as the region’s hub for innovation opportunities, the Pearl Science Park will house a cluster of scientific institutes and enhance the city’s research capabilities.

Guangzhou’s three-year plan on new infrastructure development

China has been pushing ahead to build new infrastructure, assigning it top priority last year in aiding economic recovery. In line with Beijing’s directive, Guangzhou rolled out a three-year plan last July to boost development in fields such as 5G, artificial intelligence and big data centres.

By 2022, the city aims to set up 80,000 more 5G base stations to improve the coverage. To establish an artificial intelligence industry cluster in the bay area, Guangzhou will develop eight key industries including smart connected cars and robots.

As for its charging infrastructure, 4,000 public charging stations are set to be built by next year, along with more than 50,000 charging facilities such as one-stop services for payment and navigation.

Guangzhou blockchain development pilot zone

Last May, Guangzhou was appointed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to be the first city in China to develop a pilot zone for blockchain technology.

Measures unveiled to develop the industry in the next two years include promoting the application of blockchain in government affairs. For instance, the city has seen success with Baiyun district’s first batch of digital education cards based on a blockchain network concept.

The development zone will also work with internet companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and Baidu to establish a blockchain ecosystem and develop innovative solutions in areas including transportation, health, food and medicine.

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