The first Guangzhou International Expo on New Energy and Digital Technology for Public Transportation opened on Wednesday in south China's Guangdong Province, with many companies bringing new technologies and products including new self-driving bus.
Mr. Xie, a guest attending the expo, took a self-driving minibus from the hotel to the exhibition hall.
"It's very comfortable and safe, and with nice view. I think technology is advancing so fast now," Xie said.
In the outdoor exhibition area, there are displays of self-driving taxis, new energy buses, and urban management robot systems based on public transportation scanners.
"There are currently 50 self-driving buses, all of which have been put into use. Ten routes have been opened in the city, including the Bio-Island Line in Huangpu District, and the Pazhou Line and the Guangzhou Tower Line in Haizhu District," said Qiu Xiaowei, project manager of Guangzhou Bus Group Fourth Branch autonomous driving project.
In the indoor exhibition area, a new self-driving bus, produced by auto maker Miraco Motor, made its debut. It is a 15-seater model. In the future, citizens can book a bus just like booking an online taxi. The status of passengers can be seen on the bus display.
"The stops and routes of the bus are not fixed, you can get on or off the bus wherever you need. It represents the trend of miniaturization, intelligence and online booking of public transportation. It will be launched in Guangzhou by the end of this year," said Xiao Ning, founder and general manager of Miraco Motor.
The expo, which will last for three days, is held in the form of "forum + exhibition", creating an important platform for exchanges between Chinese public transportation companies and counterparts around the world.
Self-driving bus makes debut at public transportation expo
Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit resonated with the common aspiration of more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people and demonstrated China's firm will of moving forward hand-in-hand with Africa along the path of development, revitalization and modernization, several participants at the event have said.
In his speech on Thursday, Xi proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
He also announced that the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan (about 50.8 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to Africa over the next three years.
"Everyone was happy to hear those news, so everyone was clapping. So now we are going to a higher level of relations between China and Africa," said Hamidou, a counselor at the Embassy of Comoros in Beijing.
"China understands Africa's urgent desire to advance modernization. We can learn a lot from China's development," said Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.
Xi also suggested 10 partnership actions for modernization that China will take together with Africa in the next three years to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernization in the Global South.
"President Xi, through his long vision of the needs of countries and his interest in supporting development, has offered this as a real vehicle to promote exports of Africa to China, which is a huge market," said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP).
"As he told this morning, we have many projects in digitalization, in capacity building, in health centers, support for health, for infrastructure, in the framework of the Belt and [Road]. And we think that we are very satisfied with this partnership. This is a win-win partnership," said Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, the 2024 FOCAC summit brought together leaders from China and over 50 African countries, who highlighted the common pursuit of China and African countries in realizing modernization.
During the summit, both sides unanimously adopted two important documents -- a declaration on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and an action plan of the FOCAC for the next three years.
Xi's speech at FOCAC summit resonates with people's common aspiration: participants
