Innovations in science and technology boost high-quality development of Guangdong

Photo shows the final assembly and testing of a launch vehicle in a plant. (People's Daily Online/Li Jiaying)

Innovations in science and technology have boosted the high-quality development of south China's Guangdong Province in recent years.

The industry has taken considerable note of CAS Space, a Chinese commercial space launch enterprise in Nansha district. Founded in December 2018, it quickly developed into a comprehensive aerospace company that incorporates the research, manufacture, final assembly and testing of liquid and solid-fuel launch vehicles. It will be capable of producing 30 solid-fuel launch vehicles a year after an industrial base is completed.

Li Qinfeng, deputy general manager of CAS Space, told People's Daily Online that the company chose to settle in Nansha district because of its geographical and industrial advantages and industrial concentration, and the company is going to tap into space tourism market in 2025, which means the company may be the first provider of space tourism services in China.

Nansha district is also home to China's first deep-water and largest research wharf. The wharf, which belongs to the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS) under the China Geological Survey, officially opened in December 2022. Sprawling over 20 hectares, the wharf has five berths for research vessels with a total length of 700 meters, and a land area of about 12,000 square meters, serving as an important facility for China's cooperation in oceanic research and deep-sea scientific and technological innovation efforts.

Xu Xiaodong, a GMGS official, said that the geological materials and oceanic research outcomes will boost related industries, and help build China into a leading maritime nation.