Thyssenkrupp Elevator has opened its China headquarters in Shanghai. The 15,000-square-meter, 40-meter-high block was built in the Songjiang district at a cost of CNY120 million. It showcases the company’s latest elevators, escalators, moving walkways and TWIN elevators. “China is by far our most important market in Asia,” said Heinrich Hiesinger, Chairman of the Executive Board of Thyssenkrupp. The elevator subsidiary currently employs almost 10,000 people at 68 branches and 132 offices in China. In 2011, the company launched its Sanfte brand of elevators, aimed at the local market. The company began building its new Zhongshan elevator plant and test tower in Guangdong province in 2015 with a total investment of CNY450 million. Upon completion, the plant will cover an area of nearly 100,000 square meters and include a world-class 248-meter test tower, which will support the development of high-end elevators for the global and local markets. The company’s TWIN elevator, operating two cars independently in the same shaft, can take passengers to two different floors at the same time, thus reducing waiting time, the China Daily reports.

Scotland signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s SinoFortone Group and the China Railway No 3 Engineering Group for infrastructure projects with a potential value of GBP10 billion. The agreement will pave the way for significant investment in fields such as clean energy, transport and affordable housing. At the signing ceremony, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was joined at Bute House by Peter Zhang, Managing Director of SinoFortone Group, Sir Richard Heygate, Senior Adviser for China Railway No 3 Engineering Group, and Chinese Consul General Pan Xinchun.

Premier Li Keqiang said there will be no leniency for anyone involved in the vaccine scandal that has shocked the nation. Li pledged to punish officials who are proven to have been derelict in their duty in the distribution of ineffective vaccines. Police in Shandong province said improperly stored or expired vaccines, worth more than CNY570 million, were sold in more than 20 provincial-level areas since 2011. Police have detained 37 suspects implicated in the scandal.

Zhang Jindong, Chairman and Founder of Suning Holdings Group, said a new collaboration agreement with liquor brand Wuliangye Group will help ensure fewer counterfeit goods enter the marketplace, as well as cut transport costs for both firms. Under the agreement, China’s largest electronic home appliance-turned-internet retailer will be able to collect products directly from Wuliangye’s factories and warehouses, and transport them to its own distribution centers, thus reducing the need for any middlemen, said Zhang. Shipping goods directly from Wuliangye to its customers in this way, especially those in remote areas of the country, will reduce the risk of counterfeits, as well as cut costs, he said. Wuliangye will also be given better representation in Suning’s more than 2,000 stores, and a new Wuliangye store has already been opened on suning.com, which offers customers a range of tailor-made Wuliangye products developed exclusively for the retailer. Zhang said Suning will also allow the liquor producer access to its huge big data resources to allow it to better understand the shopping habits of millions of Chinese consumers, which will help improve and adjust its portfolio, and improve the efficiency of its supply chain.

Northeast China (the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang) will undergo an industrial boom to compete with eastern provinces during the 13th Five Year Plan (2016-20), senior officials said in Hainan province. The boom will be led by developing the “Made in China 2025” pilot program and an upgraded service sector. The region was the country’s top industrial hub in the 1970s before declining rapidly in the following decade, when it encountered difficulties in adapting to the structural reforms of the new market economy. Jiang Youwei, Vice Governor of Jilin, said seeking new market growth points from the fast-growing service sector, including logistics and e-commerce businesses, can help the three northeastern provinces to optimize their resources to improve exports. This will also create more jobs and attract foreign investment. Jilin is preparing to launch international freight train and air cargo services from Changchun, the provincial capital, to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, and major Russian cities in the next three years. Pan Liguo, Mayor of the Liaoning provincial capital Shenyang, said the province will give priority to developing aviation, railway and intelligent equipment in the next five years. It will also encourage innovation, talent cultivation and transformation of traditional industries. The proportion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is higher in the northeast than in most other provinces.