The 2024 International (Shenzhen) Intelligent Building Industry Expo kicked off on Sunday in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, showcasing more than 1,000 innovative products.
As the first specialized expo covering all links, factors and the entire lifecycle of the building industry in China, the two-day event features debuts of a host of the latest intelligent, green and digital technologies, which represent the country's new quality productive forces in the field of intelligent construction.
Among the debuts is a basalt reinforced concrete-based material with ductility of over one percent, which is expected to eliminate steel bars in infrastructure building; an antique screen wall built completely through the assembly of renewable modules with the help of digital technology, a new method that can improve efficiency and reduce costs by 40 percent; and China's first self-supporting full-lifecycle management and collaboration platform for the building industry, which covers all links from design, material processing to construction and, as an example, can triple construction efficiency in the field of decoration.
"This expo focuses on seven key areas, including intelligent construction equipment, industrialized architectural components and intelligent production, smart home and intelligent operation and maintenance, green and low-carbon. More than 140 innovative enterprises from 11 countries and regions are exhibiting more than 1,000 innovative products, which represent the latest outcomes in intelligent construction. So far, agreements valuing a total of four billion yuan (about 560 million U.S. dollars) have been signed on the trade of innovative products via the expo," said Chen Weiguo, chief organizer of the expo and executive director of the China Construction Industry Association.
1st int’l intelligent building industry expo opens in south China’s Shenzhen
The United States has long been the major external factor affecting Haiti's security, stability, and development, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, on Monday, who also condemned the U.S. for exacerbating Haiti's economic challenges by imposing sweeping tariffs.
Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Geng expressed China's deep concern over Haiti's worsening crisis and rampant gang violence, its near-collapse state, and the desperate situation of its population.
For over a century, the United States has blatantly deployed troops, installed puppet governments, and manipulated Haiti's constitution, entrenching itself in Haiti's political affairs, said Geng.
He noted that just a year ago, the United States orchestrated the current political transition arrangements in Haiti. However, following a shift in its own government, the United States has turned a blind eye to that very transition, leaving Haiti mired in internal conflict and turmoil.
According to Geng, the United States has always been the main source of weapons for Haiti, allowing illegal weapons to flow into Haiti from Florida.
In October 2023, the United States spearheaded the formation of the Multinational Security Support Mission, pledging financial support. However, in the past year and more, its actual contributions have been relatively limited. At one point, the Untied States even attempted to convert the mission into a UN peacekeeping operation, citing a lack of funds, said Geng.
This is an apparent act to shift the burden onto the UN and its member states, treating them as little more than an ATM machine, Geng added.
Geng also highlighted the U.S. role in undermining Haiti's development.
While professing support for the Haitian people, the United States has significantly cut foreign aid and continued deporting Haitian immigrants on the pretext of national priorities when Haiti is in dire need of support, said the Chinese envoy. "What is even more shocking is that not long ago, while the United States defied world opinion by imposing sweeping tariffs on all trade partners, it also extended its so-called baseline tariff of 10 percent to Haiti, one of the world's least developed countries as defined by the UN. This act of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying is not just aimed at the so-called competitors like China. It has also inflicted damage on a nation teetering on the edge of collapse, such as a fragile country like Haiti, where the people are in dire straits. This is not only cruel and absurd, but also profoundly heartbreaking," said Geng.
Chinese envoy slams US for negative role in Haiti's crisis
