China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen plans to "fully compete" in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, announcing 160 billion yuan (US$22.07 billion) in "new-type infrastructure" investment for the year as it called on the city to embrace challenges like a "seabird braving the storm.

For years, Shenzhen has been synonymous with Chinese innovation. The southern megacity - and the firms it has spawned over the decades - have become the indisputable champions of the country's drive for technological self-reliance,

The Shenzhen innovation ecosystem is different from anything in the West. Companies may find themselves competing not with individual companies but with entire ecosystems

Liu Ruiqin (fourth from left) pose for a photo with students in California, the US. Photo: Courtesy of Shenzhen Education Center for International Exchange

The southern tech hub is stepping up its support for home-grown innovation with a package of policies to stay competitive in cutting-edge fields.

In 2024, China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 3.5 percent year-on-year to reach 48.79 trillion yuan ($6.8 trillion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The Perennial General Hospital Tianjin, China's first wholly foreign-owned, third-grade general hospital, commenced operations in North China's Tianjin Municipality on Wednesday, as the country pushes forward its plan to open up its medical sector to foreign investors.

A new survey by Chinese media shows that housing rents in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have fallen to 2015–2017 levels, while rents in Guangzhou, Chengdu and Tianjin have dropped to the early 2010s levels.

The travel rush during China’s biggest holiday is often read as a barometer for the country’s economic health. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The south China tech hub of Shenzhen will launch a 10 billion yuan (about 1.39 billion U.S. dollars) industry fund to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, focusing on AI software, hardware and embodied intelligence, local authorities said Sunday.

From Beijing trying to reset relations with Tokyo to Hangzhou rivalling Shenzhen, here’s a round-up from today’s China and economy coverage.