Overseas visitors to Guangzhou auto show applaud China's auto industry progress

Global attendees at the ongoing 23rd Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition expressed excitement over China's booming automotive market, highlighting Chinese vehicles' innovative technologies, rising quality, and competitive pricing.

As south China's biggest annual automotive industry exhibition, this year's event is taking place from Nov. 21 to 30 in Guangdong Province.

The growing variety and quality of Chinese vehicles has attracted visitors from around the world, with the selection on display impressing even those from countries with traditionally strong automotive industries.

"I want to see what's going on the Chinese market. I'm some quite often in China and it's so rapidly evolving. It's super exciting to see all the new cars brands coming up and new technologies. I'm actually here to get a feeling of the market," said a visitor from Germany.

Others marveled at the tremendous progress of China's auto industry in a short time span.

"So many new concepts, really nice looking, especially Chinese-made [cars]. The Chinese car industry has tremendous progress in recent years. I've been out of China in college and actually I left China in the beginning of 2020. When I returned after four years, I didn't recognize it. They're all brand new cars, all new designs. It's really number one now in the world I think," said a visitor.

Some Chinese carmakers have been making names for themselves around the world as brands that provide high value for cost. One example is smartphone and consumer electronics products maker Xiaomi, which last year unveiled its first electric car after just three years of development.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Chinese brands, innovative brands like Xiaomi. I really love Xiaomi. Because I think in China you have a lot of potential, a lot of new cars. I'm looking for Chinese brands, mainly," a visitor said.

"Some really good Chinese vehicles are being made. The quality is increasing. The price is great. I think the Chinese vehicles are taking over [the lead in the global auto market]," another said.

Overseas visitors to Guangzhou auto show applaud China's auto industry progress

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) government has issued a statement promising to cover the food and accommodation costs for stranded tourists in hotels across the country, following Iran's military strikes on US bases in the region.

Iran's retaliatory strikes came after the United States and Israel launched what they called "major combat operations" against Iran, which led to the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, a number of senior officials, and a large number of civilians. Iran's retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and U.S. facilities across the region, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE government issued a notice to hotels on Sunday, stating that given the current special circumstances, some tourists, although past their original check-out date, are unable to leave the country due to force majeure. The statement requests all hotels to extend the stay of these guests until they can leave the country smoothly, noting that the relevant costs will be borne by the government.

Previously, the UAE News Agency issued a statement saying that due to the large-scale cancellation of flights, the closure of airports nationwide, and the blockade of airspace, the UAE General Authority of Civil Aviation would be responsible for paying for the food and accommodation costs of thousands of stranded tourists.

Chinese tourists stranded in Abu Dhabi told China Media Group reporter that they were pleasantly surprised to receive assistance from the UAE government.

"It was quite unexpected, because logically it shouldn't be provided by them; it's more like an extra service for tourists. An announcement from the UAE Department of Culture and Tourism said that stranded people can be provided with free accommodation until flights resume. The hotel provides three meals a day, and daily laundry service. We saw it on Ctrip; it's a four-star hotel, one of the better chain hotels recommended by the platform," said a Chinese tourist.

UAE to provide free accommodation, food to stranded tourists following Iranian attacks