Diplomats visit Shanghai's leading enterprises
About 40 diplomats from 28 countries visit Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China
About 40 diplomats from 28 countries are visiting leading enterprises of key industries in Shanghai to learn about China's industrial development and the possibility of enhancing cooperation with China. They are on a "Global Insights into Chinese Enterprises" tour organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Their first stop on Wednesday was Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), where they learned that China's self-developed regional jets, the ARJ21 and C919, had received more than 1,800 orders from dozens of customers and completed demonstration flights in many countries.
The diplomats also had the opportunity to step into the cabin of mock-ups of the ARJ21, C919 and C929 aircraft to try the passenger seats and inspect the control systems in the cockpits.
Arthur Williams, Jamaica's ambassador in China, said seeing the models was a great experience. He said the seats were apparently comfortable and the cockpit was quite impressive.
"I'm pleased to learn that China is building ships and now aircraft. So you're covering land, sea and air," he said.
"We hope our people can come here and learn the aircraft mechanics and pilots and so on. We would also like to see more Chinese aircraft coming to Jamaica, bringing Chinese people as tourists to see the beauty of my country."
Marcelo Gabriel Suárez Salvia, Argentine ambassador in China, said he was amazed to learn that COMAC, which was established in 2008, had made such quick progress in a short period of time.
"Argentina and China are very far apart, interconnectivity is key so we can bring closer our people. We are having conversations with the Chinese air authority to see in which way we can open up our links between South America in general, Argentina in particular in China," he said.
Freddie Gaoseb, commercial counsellor of Namibia, said he was looking forward to see Chinese aircraft in the African country.
"We believe that the next frontier is Africa and I think in terms of intra-Africa transportation, we will need all these aircraft," he said. "I think we can believe in the reliability of Chinese technology and Chinese quality, absolutely good."
The diplomats drink coffee made by a robot.
The diplomatic envoys also visited Zhangjiang AI Robot Valley, which hosts a cluster of leading enterprises and innovation platforms.
They drank coffee made by a robot and talked with an interactive humanoid robot named "Qing Bao."
Jamaican ambassador Williams had a robot paint a picture for him.
"I like it, it's really nice," he said, holding the painting in his hand and showing it to his companions.
Chatchai Viriyavejakul, the Thai ambassador to China, tried a medical robot for rehabilitation.
"China is far more advanced than Thailand, so there are potentials that Thailand and China can work together on all these technologies," he said.
The diplomats tour the Zhangjiang AI Robot Valley.
The diplomats visited Jiangnan Shipyard Group on Thursday to learn about China's innovative, smart and green technologies in ship manufacturing industry.
They will visit Envision Group on Friday to see how China has been dedicated to promoting green technology to provide sustainable solutions for mankind and achieve its dual carbon goals.
Take a photo with a humanoid robot.
