Twin penguin chicks debut in Guangzhou park

A pair of twin penguin chicks made their public debut on Thursday, one month after they hatched out at an aquarium in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong in south China.

The fluffy bundles of chicks, sporting their gray downy coats, are now as big as their mom.

Spending most of their time around their mom, they keenly observe their surroundings with curious, wary eyes. Occasionally, the little explorers mimic their parents' actions, tottering around in wobbly steps.

For now, the twin chicks are still being fed by their mom, and they are expected to start moulting in just over a month, according to their keeper.

The penguin twins have grown quickly. The smaller chick, weighing merely 85 grams at birth, has now ballooned to a healthy 2.5 kilograms.

China is accelerating the commercialization of marine scientific and technological achievements and fostering new quality productive forces by boosting support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the marine sector, with a focus on investment and financing to drive industry growth.

The development of marine industries is marked by substantial investments, high risks, and slow returns. However, with strong national support, some companies, such as Zhejiang Startest Marine Science and Technology Co., Ltd. in east China, have achieved notable success.

The company is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in the independent research and development of underwater sonar detection equipment and underwater information data systems.

It now holds more than 210 intellectual property rights for its designs.

"We are now fully capable of replacing similar foreign imported products with our own ones, thereby overcoming the bottleneck in production caused by foreign product embargoes," said Su Xiaoyang, president of Zhejiang Startest Marine Science and Technology Co., Ltd.

While some marine SMEs, such as Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd., China's first underwater data center equipment and service provider, have mastered core technologies, a gap remains compared to international standards. As a result, continuous investment is necessary for them to overcome critical technological challenges.

"The Underwater Data Center Pilot Project is a new infrastructure initiative requiring a significant initial investment and scale effects. However, both users and investors in the market still lack a comprehensive understanding of the project's strategic significance, including the technical risks associated with emerging technologies," said Pu Ding, general manager of the Underwater Data Center Pilot Project in Hainan under Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd.

To address the challenges faced by marine SMEs in securing investment and financing, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), along with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has organized a series of roadshows since 2016. Over 200 marine SMEs and innovation teams have participated, securing more than 3 billion yuan (around 409.8 million U.S. dollars) in financing.

In addition to these efforts, the MNR, in collaboration with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, launched China Ocean Economy Stock Price Index in 2024, covering 20 marine and related industries.

"This is the first domestic comprehensive index in the marine sector, covering all the markets of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hong Kong. It provides timely insights into the operational performance of listed companies in the marine industry and plays an important role in promoting the efficient allocation of financial capital to the marine real economy," said Feng Lei, deputy director of the Ocean Strategic Planning and Economic Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources.