Kishore Mahbubani: Zhuhai reveals vision for future city

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- News report from South:

"When I came to Zhuhai, I must say it was a mind-blowing experience."

That was how Kishore Mahbubani, a prominent scholar and Singapore's former ambassador to the United Nations, described his recent visit to the southern Chinese city as part of South's "Inside China" series.

From close-up encounters with low-altitude aviation to first-hand observations of cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Macao, Mahbubani said Zhuhai's emerging industries — particularly the low-altitude economy — left the strongest impression.

"In many areas, China is now number one in technology," he said.

At the Tangjia Port Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Logistics Operations Base, Mahbubani saw how drones are already used for island inspections, firefighting, aquaculture, and logistics, along with demonstrations of passenger-carrying electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs.

He was particularly struck by the fact that EHang has become the world's first company to receive commercial airworthiness certification for civilian, passenger-carrying unmanned eVTOL aircraft, which are now approved for commercial operations and exported to multiple overseas markets.

Zhuhai, one of China's first special economic zones established in 1980, has seen rapid growth in emerging industries led by the low-altitude economy. The city hosts more than 75 related companies and has launched China's first cross-border low-altitude airspace management system, version 2.0, covering about 3,600 square kilometers across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Alongside new industries, Mahbubani also examined how traditional manufacturing is being reshaped.

At Gree Electric Appliances (Zhuhai Jinwan) Co., Ltd., automation has significantly improved efficiency, while exports have continued to grow this year despite higher US tariffs.

Chen Huadong, general manager of the Jinwan subsidiary, said more than 70 percent of Gree's overseas sales are under its own brands, with products customized for different climates — from extreme heat in the Middle East to sub-zero conditions in northern Europe.

"Visiting Gree was a mind-blowing experience," Mahbubani said.

Another stop on Mahbubani's journey was Hengqin, where the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone has supported Macao's economic diversification, with tens of thousands of residents and numerous Macao-funded companies now operating there.

Reflecting on the journey, Mahbubani said the scale of change was striking even for long-time observers of China. "The world has changed," he said. "People should come and see it for themselves."