Central China province strives to turn itself into hub of reform, opening up

Central China's Henan Province has striven over the past more than ten years to build itself into a hinterland hub of reform and opening up through vigorous development of aviation logistics and cross-border trade, and with the adoption of a series of reform measures meant to improve the business environment.

In the provincial capital city of Zhengzhou, the Xinzheng International Airport has become the first in China to introduce an automated guided vehicle (AGV) smart application project. Acting on commands issued by the backstage, this groundbreaking project features 40 unmanned forklifts that effortlessly distribute goods to 1,284 standardized storage locations.

Within the sprawling 70,000-square-meter cargo terminal, a sophisticated intelligent system acts as the brain, automatically calculating the remaining storage capacity and providing early warnings for any potential irregularities in every corner. Beyond enhanced operational efficiency, the implementation of this intelligent system has also resulted in faster and more efficient outbound cargo shipments.

Notably, in May 2020, the Xinzheng International Airport became the sole pilot airport designated to operate air cargo e-freight in China on a trial basis.

The air cargo e-freight platform has revolutionized the industry by digitizing various air cargo documents and customs declarations. This seamless integration has created a comprehensive data chain, connecting foreign trade enterprises, freight forwarders, customs authorities and airlines within the aviation logistics operation chain.

Previously, the process of cargo security declarations used to involve cumbersome paperwork. But now, a single unified platform streamlines the procedure, eliminating the need for redundant submissions and multiple physical visits, effectively easing long-standing bottlenecks.

The adoption of such bold reform measures has significantly improved the business environment. Over 260 companies have already joined the e-freight platform, saving more than 1.5 million paper documents annually and increasing data transmission efficiency by over 20 percent.

As a result, the Xinzheng International Airport air cargo e-freight project was selected into the seventh batch of successful reform projects in China's national-level free trade zones, with plans for replication and nationwide promotion.

With over a decade of development, the Xinzheng International Airport has established more than 40 all-cargo routes, creating an extensive air cargo network that spans Europe, America and Asia, covering major global economic hubs.

Central China province strives to turn itself into hub of reform, opening up

China's box office earnings in the first half of 2024 surpassed 23.9 billion yuan (about 3.2 billion U.S. dollars), data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed Sunday.

Topping the chart was domestic comedy-drama "YOLO", which tells the story of an unemployed woman in her 30s who still lives with her parents until she meets a boxing coach who may change her life. The film raked in 3.46 billion yuan in box office earnings.

Other hits included comedy-dramas "Pegasus 2" and "Article 20", which pocketed 3.39 billion yuan and 2.45 billion yuan, respectively.

The country's movie industry kicked off the new year with a record high revenue of approximately 1.53 billion yuan (about 216 million U.S. dollars) for the three-day New Year's Day holiday. Box office revenue during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday exceeded 8 billion yuan (about 1.13 billion U.S. dollars), with domestic comedy movies accounting for over 97 percent of the total earnings.

The box office revenue for the summer movie season, which runs from June 1 to August 31, had reached 2 billion yuan (about 275 million U.S. dollars) by Saturday.

More Chinese productions are slated to hit the big screen this summer. Reports show that 88 movies have already been rounded up as of July 19.

China's box office hits 23.9 billion yuan in H1