Business confidence of SMEs improves

China's small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed improving business confidence in November as the country's economy has stabilized amid strong policy support, a report showed. The China SME Confidence Index rose to 54.7 in November from 54.5 in October, rising for the second consecutive month, a report from Standard Chartered Bank said.

Shenzhen firm bags boarding bridge order

China's major boarding bridge provider Shenzhen CIMC-TianDa Airport Support Ltd has secured a 518.5-million-yuan ($73 million) order for making boarding bridges for the Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, the largest single order in the sector so far in the country. The Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based company will produce 127 boarding bridges, 68 fixed bridges and 195 aircraft ground air-conditioning devices for the airport. The Chengdu airport, which is expected to come into service in 2021, will become the largest airport in Southwest China, with an expected capacity of 90 million passengers a year.

WeRide starts trials of self-driving taxis

China's smart mobility company, WeRide, on Thursday announced the launch of a trial run of selfdriving taxis in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province. A fleet of dozens of L4-class autonomous driving cars, named RoboTaxi, was introduced to roads in a 144 square kilometer area in the city. The Nissan pure electric vehicles are installed with WeRide's newest autonomous driving software and hardware. They are consistent with other taxi cabs owned by the Guangzhou Baiyun Taxi Group in appearance and use the same taxi meters. WeRide teamed up with the largest taxi company in South China in August to launch the self-driving taxi business.