Cai Chaolin, the party secretary of the Communist Party of China, touted the Nansha district of Guangzhou as a "city where dreams are realized."
The Greater Bay Area, where Nansha is situated, possesses all potential to position itself as one of the most significant economic and business hubs around the world. At the heart of this success is Nansha which at present is home to startups and companies pushing Chinas advancement in the artificial intelligence space.
Nansha is already propagated with AI companies such as the self-driving car startup Ponu.ai, Cai said during his opening remark at the CNBC East Tech West conference which is an invite-only event.
Pony.ai was founded in 2016 by James Peng and Tiancheng Lou, both former employees of Baidu and Google. The startup has offices in the Nansha District and the Silicon Valley in the United States. The startup has already received the green light to operate autonomous car rides to the public within a 1.7 mile-route across Guangzhou.
Speaking at the same event, Pony.ai COO Hu Wen said the company is in the process of building 50 self-driving cars that will be of service to people living in the district. In July, Pony.ai generated $102 million in funding. It happened only after six months from acquiring a separate $112 million in funding.
Guangzhou, as a whole, has accumulated a gross domestic product of about $1.6 trillion in 2017. The region is also home to major transportation hubs. Its key port is located in Nansha.
Cai highlighted in his opening speech that Nansha will continue to be home to projects that will attract big tech companies and tech talents. Indeed, Nansha will soon set up an establishment that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all businesses aiming to register their companies in the district.
The Nansha District also earned praises during the 15th Annual Global Conference of International Finance Forum held from Nov. 24 to 25.
Attendees during the event were one in saying that Nansha is poised to become a premier financial hub that will connect businesses operating in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao to the international market.
Shaukat Aziz, former Pakistani prime minister, highlighted that Nansha is truly the heart of a new Belt and Road initiative aimed at establishing international innovative financial services.
Indeed, Nansha is currently the Chinese city with the largest number of pioneering financial reform programs. There were 15 policies approved under the Nansha New Area initiative. The Nansha Free Trade and the green financing projects have also been established in the district. All in all, Nansha is home to as many as 6,000 financial firms.
