(Yicai Global) May 9 -- China will establish an innovation center in Guangdong  focused on the use of fifth-generation communications technology at  ports in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

Guangzhou Port Authority, Guangzhou Port Group, mobile carrier China Unicom and  Huawei Technologies will work together on the facility, which will help  sea terminals boost operations and management while improving efficiency  and economic benefits, Yicai Global learned.

The area boasts many of China's key terminals, including Guangzhou Port,  China Merchants Port, Zhuhai Port and Yantian Port. Guangzhou's cargo  throughput reached 613 million tons last year while that of containers  hit 21.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units, both ranking fifth  globally.

The center will provide 5G solutions to build automated green terminals,  Guangzhou Port said in a statement, adding that it will use blockchain  and autonomous driving tech to boost operational capabilities and core  competitiveness. 

Many port operators have turned to digital transformation in the face of a  falling shipping market and climbing operation costs on the back of  unstable international trade. China has built three fully automated  container terminals including the Shanghai Yangshan deep-water port  which is the world's biggest. 

The bay area is a development concept consisting of nine cities in  Guangdong province and the two special administrative regions of Hong  Kong and Macau. The aim is to build a world-class city group, an  international science and technology innovation center, while also  providing a high standard of living. 

Editor: William Clegg