Infrastructure

China recently released its draft energy law, which highlights energy security, renewable energy, and liberalisation and reform of the sector as a whole. Tom Pattison speaks to three experts to find out what it might mean for foreign investors In April, China released its draft energy law that aims to regulate, control and reform the energy sector. “The aim of this law is to reform a sector that is very …

Heatherwick Studio’s partner Lisa Finlay discusses the firm’s current ambitious landscaping project, 1,000 Trees, their past designing the British Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, and future architectural trends in China, with Clizia Sala   The renders of the 1000 Trees Project under construction along the Suzhou River in Shanghai look stunning and extremely ambitious. Can you describe the project? The project has the shape of two mountains topped by living …

Dexter Roberts lived in Beijing for more than two decades reporting on economics, business and politics for Bloomberg Businessweek. In his new book, The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: The Worker, the Factory, and the Future of the World, Roberts looks at what actually powers the Chinese economic machine. From the rural villages that supply the vast numbers of migrant workers to what this massive internal migration has meant for China’s …

  Juan Du is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a founding director of the Shenzhen Centre for Design. Her new book ‘The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China’s Instant City’ (Harvard University Press) emerged from her active involvement in the ongoing development and planning of the city. It’s a study of a city planned to foster innovation, business and co-operation, …

Place branding for Chinese cities has never been more important, writes Kaitlin Zhang How many Chinese cities can you name? Outside of the most famous, established cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, the Chinese city with the highest brand awareness level is Shenzhen at 93 percent, according to a recent Chinese City Branding Report by Oval Branding. The success of Shenzhen is in large part due to its status …

Qianhai in Shenzhen is one of three areas designated by Beijing for the next stage of China’s Reform and Opening. It has been slow getting going, but changes are being accelerated, writes Anthony Lawrance Facing the South China Sea, Qianhai doesn’t have much room for future expansion – unless further reclamation work is done. However for now, that suits local and national officials just fine: What Qianhai is set to …

The largest Chinese investor in the north of England BCEG had invested billions into infrastructure and residential projects in the north. Here, Yu Dongwen, director of BCEG International talks through the reasons for their investment in the north.   When did you launch in the UK and how has growth been since then? 2013 marked an important year for us. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was conceived in 2013, …

The special economic zone on the southern tip of Guangzhou is experimenting with some bold, innovative reforms. From the farmlands of Hengli Island, a new financial powerhouse is rising, writes Anthony Lawrance of Greater Bay Insights It seems like every city wants to be a World Finance Centre these days. In fact, many Chinese cities have more than one tall building with such a name on its door. In the …

The Greater Bay Area cluster will see the creation of a vast administrative region in south China that will overhaul infrastructure, strengthen economic growth and become a leader in R&D, writes Torsten Weller Last year, China celebrated the 40th anniversary of the economic reform that accompanied its opening-up policies. Deng Xiaoping’s decision to swap Soviet-style planning for market forces and free enterprise has created one of the biggest economic success …

Anthony Lawrance of Greater Bay Insights explains the basics of the Greater Bay Area’s Innovation Corridor Shenzhen is often called China’s Palo Alto, the city at the heart of Silicon Valley, a reflection of the way in which the Greater Bay Area is often called China’s Silicon Valley. Yet what many observers do not realize is that there is, in fact, a blueprint for China’s Silicon Valley within the overall …