China Daily

Hong Kong Officials Pitch City as GBA 'Super Connector' Ahead of APEC 2026

Hong Kong – September 17, 2026 -- Nearly 300 government officials, consuls general and business leaders convened in Hong Kong for a conference positioning the city as the primary financial and innovation gateway linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to global markets, ahead of two major APEC meetings the region will host later this year.

Hong Kong to host APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in October, Shenzhen to hold Leaders' Meeting in November

Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in a video address that the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen in November — a first for the GBA — while Hong Kong separately hosts the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in October. Lee said the city's deep, liquid capital markets and professional talent pool have made it Asia's premier hub for fundraising, asset management and risk management.

Beijing Launches 'China Bound' AI Tourism Platform for Global Visitors

Beijing – September 16, 2026 -- China Daily and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism jointly launched the "China Bound•Beijing" English-language cultural tourism platform, giving international visitors a single digital gateway to plan trips, access AI-powered assistance and navigate the capital's attractions via a dedicated website and mini-programs on Alipay and WeChat.

New platform bundles itinerary planning with AI assistance for overseas travelers

The platform, accessible at chinabound.cn/beijing, offers services ranging from trip planning to real-time AI support aimed at extending visitor stays through immersive experiences such as intangible cultural heritage tours. "We aim to tell Beijing's cultural-tourism stories in a language overseas audiences understand, and translate the city's resource advantages into inbound tourism appeal," said Zheng Fang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

China Services Trade Hits $663B as Beijing Widens Market Access

Beijing – September 12, 2026 -- China's trade in services reached nearly 4.45 trillion yuan ($663 billion) in the first seven months of 2026, up 8.3 percent year-on-year, according to Ministry of Commerce data released ahead of the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing this week.

Services exports outpace imports as knowledge-intensive sectors surge

Services exports climbed 17.1 percent year-on-year to over 1.77 trillion yuan, while imports rose a slower 3.2 percent to 2.67 trillion yuan, narrowing the composition gap even as the overall services trade deficit stood at 900.25 billion yuan for the period. Knowledge-intensive exports -- spanning telecommunications, information technology, finance and intellectual property services -- grew 12.2 percent to 948.28 billion yuan, now accounting for 53.5 percent of China's total services exports.