Towards APEC China 2026, Shenzhen Offers a Giant Playground for Innovation and Technology
As the host of APEC China 2026, Shenzhen offers cutting-edge novelty on every corner. During the ASEAN Media Visit China Tour: Guangdong Dynamic programme last week, around 20 journalists and influencers from ASEAN countries were invited to see Shenzhen up close. Upon landing at Baiyun International Airport, coffee made by a robot was already waiting. This is not an unusual sight there; robot baristas can apparently be found everywhere. That innovation is certainly not the only one, as a visit to the Galaxy World Robot Block and AI 6S Store showcased other innovations. These ranged from health robots that can assess body posture, hydrogen-powered bicycles, camera drones that can follow their owner, digital guitars, AI glasses, and much more. It did not stop there; there were unmanned courier cars already operating as far as the United Arab Emirates, robots that can dance and perform martial arts, piano-playing robots, robot dogs, street-cleaning robots, and many others.
During a visit to the Ping An Center Tower, the fifth tallest building in the world, its lift could transport visitors to the 116th floor in just 55 seconds. At XAG Co Ltd, a smart agricultural solutions company, there is a drone priced at IDR 200 million capable of spraying water over an area of hundreds of hectares in just one hour. Package delivery by drone from the digital company Meituan is also one of the smart solutions that forms part of daily innovation in Shenzhen. Furthermore, digital maps in China apparently display the duration of traffic light signals.
Li Xinbo, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN, stated that 5 to 10 years ago, Shenzhen was a poor city. Now, the place known as China’s Silicon Valley is home to ideas for the future. Shenzhen serves as the headquarters for various global technology companies, such as Huawei, Tencent, BYD, DJI, Ping An Insurance, and others. The presence of these companies has formed a very strong innovation ecosystem, spanning research, design, manufacturing, and product commercialisation. ‘But now, its growth is extremely rapid, making it one of the cities with the largest economic contribution in China,’ he told Republika. Shenzhen is one of the core cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), an economic zone integrating 11 cities with a population of over 86 million people. Having held Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status since 1980, this city bordering Hong Kong has successfully transformed from a fishing village into a global centre for technology, high-tech manufacturing, finance, and innovation in just about four decades.