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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
EconomyPolicy

How China’s smog-busting pollution plan will clear Shenzhen’s skies for Apec summit

Tech hub to curb industrial output, conduct drills and use AI to pinpoint pollution sources, creating ‘crisp air’ as world leaders roll in

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With themed bulletin boards, outdoor posts, decorations and installations, Shenzhen marked the 100-day countdown to the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economic leaders’ meeting. Photo: Xinhua
Frank Chenin Shanghai
The southern megacity of Shenzhen and the broader Guangdong region will curb pollution, reduce some industrial production and conduct a drill to eliminate smog, part of a plan to ensure blue skies over the city in November, when foreign dignitaries descend on the tech hub for the Apec summit.
Shenzhen has been designated a “core control area” for smog and air pollution prevention and monitoring, with Guangzhou and eight other neighbouring cities in Guangdong also implementing strict measures, officials with Guangdong’s provincial department of ecology and environment said at a recent press conference.

They added arrangements had been put in place for the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, which border Guangdong, to “forecast, monitor, warn and tackle pollution” during the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which starts on November 18.

Additionally, officials in the nearby provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, will strengthen supervision of straw burning and steel and cement plants – especially in localities along air pollution corridors – to minimise cross-regional pollution transmission, according to an official work plan.

Artificial intelligence will be deployed to pinpoint pollution sources and for more precise atmospheric analysis and forecast, provincial officials said.

“We will focus on precision and inter-regional collaboration for clean and crisp air for Apec and these efforts will also benefit residents,” said Zhang Ruifeng, director of the atmospheric environment division at Guangdong’s department of ecology and environment.

President Xi Jinping is set to receive leaders from Apec member economies in Shenzhen. United States President Donald Trump is also tipped to visit the southern city for the event, following his trip to Beijing in May.
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