The wind power arm of GE, a global top 500 company, recently signed a cooperation agreement with Guangzhou's Huangpu district to build an operation and development center.

According to the agreement, the new center will focus on regional demand and optimize the design and adaptability of offshore wind turbines to produce the Haliade-X 12MW wind turbines locally.

The 260 meter high Haliade-X 12MW turbine, developed by GE Renewable Energy, is considered the company's largest and most powerful offshore turbine.

Dubbed the "skyscraper at sea", the facility's wind turbine has a diameter of 220 meters and a 107-meter-long blade; the world's longest offshore wind turbine blade so far, equivalent to an international standard football field.

A design sketch of GE's offshore wind power project [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Each facility can generate 67 million kWh of electricity when fully operating. It can supply power to 16,000 households in Europe and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 42 million metric tons per year. That is equivalent to the annual emission of 9,000 vehicles.

The GE biotechnology park began construction in Guangzhou in 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Du Xiaoying, a senior executive of GE, said she was impressed by the talent reserve, innovation elements and business environment of Guangzhou early in 2017.

She also mentioned the city's layout in the strategic emerging industries, such as next generation information technology, artificial intelligence and bio-medicine, adding that these industries fit well with the company's business.

A bird's-eye view of Guangzhou [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Statistics show that during the Jan-May period, Guangzhou's foreign direct investment climbed 2.8 percent year-on-year to $2.94 billion, 0.5 percentage points faster than the same period of the previous year.

GE and Guangzhou have jointly created a world-class biopharmaceutical ecosphere thanks to resource sharing and complementary advantages, according to the company. It plans to accelerate the launch of innovative biopharmaceuticals to benefit more patients in China and around the world.