Development of Greater Bay Area continues to accelerate

The arrival of key policies and the commissioning of major cross-boundary infrastructure projects saw the acceleration of the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area last year.

In August, the leading group for the development of the Bay Area held its first meeting, strengthening collaboration in science and technology, and issuing measures to offer easier access to a range of services for people from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions who live on the Chinese mainland.

President Xi Jinping expressed his ambitions for the Bay Area when he met delegations from Hong Kong and Macao in November. He encouraged Guangdong province and the SARs to make institutional reforms under the framework of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Laws, the cities' constitutional documents.

National space program becomes a shining star

China made 39 orbital launches, accounting for one-third of space missions across the globe in 2018.

It marked the first time China had surpassed the United States and Russia in terms of space launches in a single year.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp completed 37 successful space missions, while China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp conducted one successful launch. A first launch attempt by Land-Space, a private rocket maker, failed.

The most important mission involved the unmanned Chang'e 4 spacecraft on Dec 8. The probe is scheduled to land on the far side of the moon soon and place a robotic rover in the South Pole-Aitken basin.

It will be the first time a space vehicle from any nation has landed on the far side of the moon.