Editor's note:
The 2024 Guangdong High-Quality Development Conference kicked off in Shenzhen on February 18. GDToday interviewed a number of representatives of international Chambers of Commerce in Guangdong for their insights and suggestions for the province's high-quality development.
“Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) provides a conducive environment for the development and testing of cutting-edge projects, such as autonomous driving, 5G applications, robots, and intelligent equipment, thanks to the enormous market, efficient supply chains, and the institutional strengths under ‘one country, two systems’ of Hong Kong and Macao,” said Tina Jiang, Managing Director at TÜV Rheinland (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. in an exclusive interview with GDToday.
Founded in 1872 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany, TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in independent testing, inspection, and certification services, ensuring quality and safety for people, the environment, and technology in nearly all aspects of life for over 150 years.
The company has three wholly-owned subsidiaries in the GBA based in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of its Guangdong branch.
Playing an active role in Guangdong’s high-quality development
In 2023, Guangdong prioritized high-quality development in its modernization drive. The province’s GDP reached 13.57 trillion RMB, up 4.8 percent, being the first to exceed 13 trillion RMB in China.
“We noticed that the province has stepped up efforts to promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry since it prioritized the real economy as the foundation and the manufacturing industry as the pillar,” said Tina.
Guangdong aims to develop traditional, emerging, and future industries simultaneously. According to Tina, TÜV has been taking this opportunity to serve its clients and help boost the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry so as to bring more quality “Made in China” products to the world stage.
Since 2018, TÜV has invested more than 220 million RMB in the GBA. Now, it takes a leading role in the field of science and technology innovation, with labs covering home appliances, refrigeration equipment, automotive electronics and so forth.
Sound business environment key to service innovation
After being established in Guangzhou back in 1994, the company has relocated a couple of times to increase its office and lab areas, which have exceeded 15,000 square meters so far.
“For a foreign-funded testing service provider, we need a sound business environment, a complete industrial system, an open attitude and strong support from the government to make service innovation. All of these conditions are found here in Guangdong and even the whole GBA,” Tina said.
Last December, TÜV Rheinland’s Low Blue Light Certification was selected among the first batch of "GBA Certification" projects, which will contribute to the high-quality integration among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. And last June, TÜV Rheinland Fire Detector Testing Laboratory Opening Ceremony was held in Guangzhou.
“We have been continuously enlarging our presence in the GBA and we also signed strategic cooperation agreements with several leading local companies recently, such as XPENG Motors, BYD, and EXENCELL,” she added.
Looking ahead, TÜV Rheinland’s testing center project for the whole GBA is being steadily advanced and its brand-new comprehensive testing center in Shenzhen will be put into use in the second half of 2024.
Reporter | Fanny
Poster | Mia, Lu Lu
Editor | Olivia, Steven, Will, James
