Annual conference opens in Guangzhou

The second session of the 13th Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference commenced in Guangzhou on Monday. Over the past year, Guangdong CPPCC has received 998 proposals, all of which have been filed and replied to and its members have continued to submit proposals on advancing the major platform construction of Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha, Hetao and other areas, as well as promoting the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, helping boost the government's introduction of policies and measures to support the development of the service industry and improve the business environment.

Latest bilingual legal guide released

Guangdong has recently published a bilingual legal guide for foreigners, aiming to facilitate the lives of expats living in the province. The guide covers daily life, marriage and family, legal services, and special management. The content encompasses laws and regulations directly relevant to work and life, including stay and residence, employment, traffic and travel, marriage registration, notarization, legal aid, mediation, arbitration, management of foreigners with irregular status, those with illegal entry, illegal employment or illegal residency, and management of domestic activities of overseas nongovernmental organizations.

1.41m vehicles from Hong Kong and Macao

The number of cross-border vehicles entering the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions was about 1.41 million in 2023. The driving north travel program took effect on Jan 1, 2023 for Macao and July 1, 2023 for Hong Kong. The scheme allows eligible vehicles to travel between the two special administrative regions and Guangdong via the mega sea-crossing bridge.

Regulations unveiled to boost manufacturing

Guangdong unveiled the Regulations on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Manufacturing Industry in Guangdong on Jan 19, which will take effect on March 1. The regulations cover the fields of manufacturing industry development and platform construction, investment promotion and enterprise development, resources allocation, and supportive services. According to the regulations, Guangdong will support enterprises in adopting new technologies, new processes, new equipment, and new materials to upgrade existing facilities, process conditions, and production services. Manufacturing enterprises will also be supported in setting up research and development institutions, increasing R&D investment, and introducing and training scientific and technological talent.

130.91b yuan worth of agri-products exported

Guangdong exported 130.91 billion yuan ($18.31 billion) worth of agricultural products in 2023, with a year-on-year increase of 13.3 percent. The figure accounts for 18.8 percent of the national exports of agricultural products. A total of 2.935 million metric tons of meat, aquatic products, fruits and vegetables were exported in 2023, including 31,000 tons of prawns, representing a 71.1 percent increase. The province exported 26,000 tons of Cantonese fruits such as lychee, longan and pineapple, which was a 46.7 percent increase compared with the previous year.

Frozen spicy crawfish, a preprepared dish from Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Co, finds a ready market. CHINA DAILY