China

（投资中国）丰隆集团执行主席：加码中国科创正逢“黄金窗口期”

China Daily | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

Guo Lingming, Executive Chairman of Singapore Fullon Group, emphasized that the current period is a "golden window" for global capital to invest in China's sci-tech innovation industries. Fullon Xinghe recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Sci-Tech Fund, planning to invest 500 million RMB through a Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) fund, marking a formal entry into China’s tech sector.

Guo highlighted the strategic importance of this cooperation, citing China’s push for technological self-reliance and a favorable, increasingly open investment environment. He expressed confidence in China’s long-term market fundamentals, driven by strong endogenous forces in hard technology, AI, new energy, and biomedicine, supported by improving policies and established trust from past engagements.

The company’s future investment focus includes four strategic emerging industries: artificial intelligence and high-end software/hardware, new energy and new materials, biomedicine and precision medicine, and semiconductors and high-end manufacturing. These sectors align with Fullon's existing operations and offer robust growth prospects for the next 10-20 years.

Additionally, Guo pointed to Shanghai’s strengths in institutional transparency, efficiency, openness, and its dual focus on sci-tech innovation and finance as key factors encouraging foreign investment. He urged more entrepreneurs, especially from Singapore, to engage with the Chinese market and its companies to capitalize on these opportunities.

China Daily | English | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Regulation

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has introduced two compulsory national standards for civil drones, set to take effect on May 1, 2026. The standards focus on real-name registration and activation of civil UAVs, and operational identification systems, aiming to clearly identify operators and enable real-time monitoring of drones during flight.

The real-name registration standard sets requirements for registrants, management, data exchange, and mandates that drones cannot fly before activation or after deactivation. The operational identification standard requires drones to automatically transmit identity, location, speed, and status information to regulators throughout their flight, facilitating better management of drone activities.

These measures respond to rapid growth in drone usage in China, with 2.726 million drones registered by mid-2025, a 74.7% year-on-year increase, and 24.47 million cumulative flight hours recorded in the first half of 2025, a 149% rise compared to the previous year. The standards also support the enforcement of China’s Interim Regulations for Managing UAV Flight, which took effect on January 1, 2024, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for drone production, operation, and supervision.

经济大省挑大梁·高手在“民”间｜“三头六臂”，诠释何以“新沪商”

China Daily | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | UndeterminedEconomic Growth

Artificial intelligence technology is rapidly advancing, and Shanghai aims to lead in AI development and governance by fostering a large-model industrial ecosystem. During a 2025 visit to Shanghai’s MoSu Space innovation community, General Secretary Xi Jinping encouraged innovation and praised young people’s role in the AI sector. Fourier Intelligent Technology, a decade-old Shanghai startup, exemplifies this ambition with its humanoid robots GR-1 and GR-2, showcasing China’s progress in robotics and AI.

Fourier's origins trace back to 2003 and were shaped by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake’s challenges, which exposed the high cost and dependence on foreign rehabilitation robots in China. Founded in 2015, Fourier focused on affordable domestic rehabilitation robots, overcoming technical obstacles like cable-driven designs to improve patient training experiences. By 2021, Fourier’s products covered 80% of clinical rehabilitation scenarios in China, earning founder Gu Jie recognition as the maker of China’s “Iron Man.”

The company emphasizes not just hardware but also integrated soft services, such as on-site guidance to hospitals and biomechanical analysis systems, helping over 2,000 medical institutions domestically and abroad. Fourier’s humanoid robots have expanded into eldercare and rehabilitation roles, seen as friendly and effective human-machine interactions, reinforcing the company’s mission of empowering life through robotics.

Fourier’s growth benefited from patient capital investments, especially from Zhangjiang incubators and key partners, along with supportive policies and talent attraction initiatives in Pudong New Area. Its approach synergizes innovation with practical application, aiming for reliable, accessible robotics that genuinely improve human life. This model underscores the rise of a new generation of Shanghai businessmen who combine technological rigor, entrepreneurial resilience, and social value.

Beyond Fourier, Shanghai’s private sector demonstrates dynamism across AI, biomedicine, and industrial services. Companies like SenseTime, MiniMax, and Xijing Technology lead global innovation, while the city’s private economy contributed 1.63 trillion yuan in 2024, with a 10.2% increase in imports and exports. Shanghai fosters a robust business environment with deep industrial clusters, nurturing “new Shanghai businessmen” who embody reform, openness, cooperation, and a decade-long pursuit of excellence aligned with the responsibilities of the new era.