Successful APEC meeting to positively impact global governance: former UNESCO chief

A successful Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen will send a strong signal of trust and have a positive effect on global governance, former UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said ahead of the event.

China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen in south China from Nov 18 to 19, which will mark the country's third hosting of the event following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014.

Bokova brought the perspective of a veteran of multilateral institutions to what has become one of the most closely watched diplomatic gatherings of the year.

"I think that there are high expectations from this meeting because we know that today there are many challenges in the world. These geopolitical shifts sometimes need to build more trust. And this is one of the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of economic growth, in terms of trade opportunities and I would say widely impacting all the other developments and all the other risks even and opportunities that we have in the world. I think a successful APEC meeting here, will have a very positive effect on all the debate about global governance and I think that global governance today is the big topic," she said.

Commenting on this year's APEC agenda, Bokova emphasized the transformative role of innovation.

"It's the, I would say, the elephant in the room, it's the most important, one of the most important topics nowadays, because we know that artificial intelligence is all around us. It shapes our societies, our education systems, our jobs. Innovation of course is very much needed. Artificial intelligence for good, and I hope that this will be the topic also for this debate. Now the question is not whether we need artificial intelligence or not, we need it and we think that it may solve many of the humanity's problems, but the question here is whether we know how to manage using this in an ethical, inclusive and sustainable manner. This is the big topic in my mind," she said.

Successful APEC meeting to positively impact global governance: former UNESCO chief

The penetration rate of new energy heavy trucks in China exceeded 50 percent in October, according to data released Wednesday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), signaling that a sector long troubled by high energy consumption has entered a new stage of electrification.

The CAAM data is not the only indicator. The China Automotive Technology and Research Center also released a series of updates on the heavy truck sector on Wednesday.

This year, new energy heavy trucks have continued to make breakthroughs in research and development, infrastructure, and technical verification. A new generation of models has entered mass production, featuring a fully loaded range of around 500 kilometers.

Energy replenishment technologies, such as megawatt-level ultra-fast charging and quick battery swapping, are maturing rapidly. Along the Hubei section of the G4 Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway in central China, 10 charging stations for heavy trucks have been put into operation.

Meanwhile, the life-cycle costs for new energy heavy trucks, including purchase, operation, and maintenance, continue to decline, accelerating their commercial adoption for trunk-line logistics. "At this stage, the penetration rate of new energy heavy trucks in enclosed settings such as ports and mines has exceeded 70 percent, and long-haul trunk-line logistics has broad prospects,"said Gong Jinfeng, general manager of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center.

"As the national-level technical service institution for the auto industry, we will use standards as a guide to advance pre-research and verification of standards for megawatt-level ultra-fast charging and battery swapping, drive product iteration and upgrades, and help new energy heavy trucks move toward large-scale use on trunk-line routes," he added.

China's new energy heavy trucks top 50 pct market share in October