IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

City planners in China are installing smart connected lighting systems to reduce carbon emissions and bring new looks to famous landmarks

China is the midst of a massive decarbonisation campaign, and smart connected LEDs are leading the drive forward.

The country’s so-called dual carbon strategy, to peak its emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060, aims to make vast advancements as part of fighting the global climate crisis. The goals are also expected to bring trillions of dollars of investment opportunities and help advance emissions-reduction technologies and low-carbon industries.

Many countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan are facing the problems of an ageing population and declining productivity, smart city has become their best solution.

Research institute IDC observes that among the five smart city projects that every nation focuses on, three are data related, namely data use, digital trust, and data-driven public safety, and these are closely related.

Enforcing the new local cybersecurity law requirements is fundamental in Macau’s development of Smart City initiatives and their integration into national development, Deloitte cybersecurity consultants told Macau News Agency (MNA).

In 2017, local authorities signed a four-year partnership agreement with the Alibaba Group to help Macau transform itself into a ‘smart city’ via cloud-computing technology in two phases, with the first having finished last year.

Sören Link, Mayor of Duisburg, Germany, has lead a 19-person government delegation to visit Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China. The visit, which took place from September 3 to 4, aims to deepen their cooperation in Smart City development. Their cooperation will focus on transforming Duisburg from a traditional industrial city into a service-oriented Smart City through smart government, smart port logistics, smart education, smart infrastructure, 5G and broadband, smart homes and urban IoT.

Building a smart city (SMC) is a sustainable goal of many nations, and technology is often assigned a pivotal role. Meanwhile, some theorists propose moving from a technology-centric approach to a more human-centric one in policymaking. So how will the SMC concept play out in reality?

Professor HU Wanyang, Assistant Professor of CityU’s Department of Public and International Affairs, and her research team, studied SMC policies in China by conducting a text analysis of policy documents from 341 Chinese prefectural cities published between 2009 and 2020. The findings were different from what theorists had predicted.

As night falls, a deep-blue "eye" gazes into the distance. Located in the western part of the Rongdong District of Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei province, the Xiong'an Urban Computing Center rests quietly. Resembling a human eye in its architectural design, it is locally known as the "Eye of Xiong'an."

Inside this "city brain," servers glow with streams of blue light, supporting multidimensional computing for government services, urban planning, and ecological management. Large screens display a continuously evolving virtual city model on a digital operations platform.

As digital technology is being fully integrated into the production and life of humankind, China is stepping up efforts to improve its digital governance to create better lives for all.

At an expo titled “the Light of Internet,” various types of cutting-edge digital technologies and products empowering digital governance and promoting inclusive development were showcased to the audience. The expo was held as part of the 2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which concluded on Tuesday in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang Province.

China is investing heavily in digital connectivity along the BRI

China’s growing technological expertise along its digital silk road is expected to set benchmarks for the rest of the world to follow, according to analysts.

President Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) started down the digital silk road long before the rest of the world began talking about connected smart cities and technology driven solutions.

Sitting in front of a computer in his office, Huang Jinhuo, who runs a machinery company in east China's Fujian Province, completed the filing of an export tax rebate with just a few clicks of his mouse.

Once the application is verified, the drawback will be transferred to the company's account in two or three days. Previously, such a process used to take at least a month and a lot of legwork.

Digital transformation and technological innovation have brought about new professions requiring new skills and knowledge in various industries amid China's endeavors to promote high-quality development.

China has added 158 new professions to its list of recognized occupations since 2015, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. It started the revision work in April last year in order to update the edition released in 2015.

The city of Nanhai has announced plans to launch digital TV e-government services, in collaboration with the local TV network and a digital content provider, China Digital Media Corporation.

All central government departments and provincial-level governments have established websites and 99.1 percent of municipal governments have done the same, Hong said at a two-day forum on Chinese e-government services.

Der Münchner Halbleiterhersteller Infineon ist bei der Auftragsvergabe für die Herstellung von 800 Millionen Chipkarten-Ausweisen in China leer ausgegangen. Das berichtet das Nachrichtenmagazin Focus.

All original bills, trade contracts and any items related to rural collective resources - namely collectively owned funds, assets and resources in rural areas - must be published online, according to the city's new policies.

Estonia is often cited as a showcase example of what ‘e-government’ should be like

What is the most advanced digital society in the world? America? Britain? Or Germany? No. The answer is a small little-known country in Europe, Estonia.

In fact, Estonia has grabbed a lot of attentions worldwide in recent years, especially after its innovative – perhaps also a little bit controversial to some – digital citizenship initiative to allow everyone in the world has the potential to virtually become an Estonian so people can set up business online more easily, in particular for market entry in Europe Union, of which Estonia is a member nation.

China’s expanding role in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital (NAC) has moved beyond construction into long-term operations, prompting concerns about whether the project represents a development opportunity or a strategic dependency. Located approximately 45 kilometers east of Cairo, the 700 square kilometer city is intended to reduce overcrowding in the capital and eventually house more than six million people. Central to the project is a $3.8 billion Central Business District (CBD), which includes government buildings, foreign embassies, and the 385.8-meter Iconic Tower. The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), a Chinese state-owned firm, is not only building the district but will also operate and maintain it. About 85 percent of the financing comes from Chinese lenders, including a $2.2 billion loan from China Exim Bank.