Shenzhen's smart tech enables athletes in first National Games' cross-border marathon to cross borders without stopping

The southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen has established a seamless customs clearance system for the ongoing 15th National Games, enabling athletes to pass through border control straight to Hong Kong without a stop for the cross-border marathon on Saturday.

A total of 69 athletes from 22 provinces and regions participated in the first cross-border marathon in the history of China's National Games, with six representing Hong Kong and Macao.

Starting from the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, runners headed to the Shenzhen Bay Port before crossing the Shenzhen Bay Bridge into Hong Kong. They experienced what's called a "zero-delay, zero-contact, zero-wait" clearance through special lanes set up for the marathon event. Non-Hong Kong runners enter with ID cards while Hong Kong-bound runners use facial recognition.

"For this marathon, we adopted a new cross-border event support model at the Shenzhen Bay Port in an innovative way, which includes pre-check, biometric identification, wristband positioning, and closed-loop management. In this pre-check area, you can see that we have established ten express lanes," said Wang Wenbin, leader of the technical support team with the Shenzhen Bay Immigration Inspection Station.

To enable real-time tracking of phone-free marathon runners, each runner is equipped with a wristband.

"This wristband uses China's BeiDou navigation chip. It sends location updates every few seconds to a back-end and database, letting us monitor each runner's path," said Wang.

While people move through quickly, the customs inspection area, equipped with security gates and baggage X-ray machines, can streamline the flow of bags and gear.

Vehicles get smart treatment too.

"When it comes to vehicles, we use 5G smart glasses linking field checks with command centers to ensure their fast and efficient customs clearance supervision," said Huang Weiqin, a customs officer with the General Office of Shenzhen Bay Customs House.

Indeed, Shenzhen and Hong Kong land ports already use extensive contactless clearance systems, handling over 600,000 crossings daily between the two cities.

"We had no prior experience hosting a cross-border event of this scale. The Shenzhen Bay Port is very busy, serving both passenger and freight transport, with a daily throughput of nearly 100,000 people," said Chen Yan, a fourth-class researcher of the Shenzhen Port Office.

The National Games, taking place across Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, and Macao from Nov 9 to 21, mark the first time that the three Chinese regions are co-hosting the country's highest-level and largest national multi-sport event.

Shenzhen's smart tech enables athletes in first National Games' cross-border marathon to cross borders without stopping

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors digested hotter-than-expected inflation data amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.56 percent to 47,916.57. The S and P 500 slipped 0.11 percent to 6,816.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.35 percent to 22,902.89.

Seven of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors closed lower. Consumer staples and health care led the declines, falling 1.43 percent and 1.33 percent, respectively. Technology and materials were the top performers, advancing 0.76 percent and 0.64 percent.

The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) jumped 3.3 percent in March from a year earlier, representing nearly a full percentage point increase from February's annual pace, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The energy index surged 10.9 percent in March, propelled by a 21.2-percent jump in gasoline prices, which alone accounted for nearly three quarters of the monthly increase across all items.

The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components to measure underlying inflation, increased more modestly, rising 0.2 percent for the month and 2.6 percent year over year.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai stated that the economy "remains on a solid trajectory," while acknowledging that food and gas prices have risen. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett described the current situation as "a temporary energy disruption," adding that the economic effects of the Iran conflict are "a temporary distraction that will very, very quickly go away."

However, Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, argued that even if a long-lasting deal to end the war is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, "it would take months for oil, gasoline, diesel and other commodity supplies to snap back to pre-war levels and thus for prices to settle back to pre-conflict levels."

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's preliminary April consumer sentiment index fell sharply to a record low of 47.6, down from 53.3 in March and well below analysts' expectations of 52.0, reflecting growing public concern over the impact of the Iran war on household finances.

Shares of the "Magnificent Seven" technology giants were mostly lower on the day. Nvidia stood out as the strongest performer, rising 2.57 percent.

Investors are now turning their attention to the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks scheduled for this weekend.

U.S. stocks close mixed after shocking inflation data