Welcome to News of the Week. This is Edward Welsh. This week's guest on my Guangdong, Philippe Bourdon, the cultural attache of the French Consulate, is new to Guangzhou but not to China. He's been here in Guangzhou for several months, returning after 13 years away from the country (China).
"Right before China, I was in Sudan. I was very excited to go back to China after 13 years. "
Though it is a new experience of living in Guangzhou, Philippe said he feels relaxed and at east here.
"When you're a foreigner, you're part of the picture. You don't  feel that people are looking at you differently. You're part of the picture. It's a nice feeling."

Before we move onto My Guangdong, let's first take a look at what's happened around Guangdong this week.
First the headlines:
Stimulus Package Showing Effect on Guangzhou Economy
GZ Clinches Deals Worth 30 Billion Yuan (4.4 billion US Dollars) with SOEs and Large Enterprises
Guangzhou International Financial Center Invites Business 


Stimulus Package Showing Effect on Guangzhou Economy
Guangzhou authorities held a press conference Tuesday (August 4) to present the results of 18 measures the government has set-up to boost domestic demand. Our journalist Wang Jianping was at the conference:
In the first half of this year, Guangzhou's GDP growth rate was 8.5%, that's 1.4% higher than the provincial and national level. In addition, fixed asset investments soared nearly 20% and retail revenue grew over 12%. The director of the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Chen Haotian, told media that this shows that the measures to boost domestic demand are starting to take effect.
"For 2009 and 2010, we have decided on key construction projects requiring a total investment of 650 billion yuan (96 billion USD), amongst which 350 billion yuan (51 billion USD) will be spent this year. Investment has been set aside for the Asian Games, improving infrastructure and the environment, without forgetting people's livelihood."
In terms of environmental protection, in the first 6 months of 2009, Guangzhou has seen 94.5% of days with an air quality reaching fairly good standards. Chen added that:
"in the first half year, we have shut down 7 coal power stations and emissions of both sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen are on the decline."

GZ Clinches Deals Worth 30 Billion Yuan with SOEs and Large Enterprises
28 new projects will be set-up in Guangzhou to accelerate the pace of the city's industrial development. More from our reporter Fang Yan:
On Monday (Aug 3rd), the Guangzhou government and local enterprises signed strategic cooperation agreements worth 30 billion yuan (4.4 billion US Dollars) with central government-level State Owed Enterprises as well as with large-scale enterprises. These include China State Shipbuilding Corporation and Bao Steel Group Corporation. The projects cover a number of different areas, such as car manufacturing, shipbuilding and energy. The largest project is Dongfeng Nissan's expansion, worth  5 billion yuan 735 million US Dollars).

Guangzhou International Financial Center Invites Business 
The Guangzhou International Financial Center (IFC), more commonly known as West Tower, held a promotional event on Tuesday (August 4). It has attracted its first clients including the world famous real estate management company CB Richard Ellis and luxury hotel group Guangzhou Four Seasons Hotel. The new skyscraper towers above Zhujiang New City with its 103 floors and its 432 meters in height will become Guangzhou's tallest building upon completion this October. It will be the 2nd tallest skyscraper on Chinese mainland, ranking only after Shanghai's Global Financial Center. Complying with government policies aimed at transforming Guangzhou into a financial hub for China and even Asia, globally renowned companies and large domestic enterprises have been invited to set up their headquarters in the building, as well as fast growing companies in sectors related to finance, insurance, consultancy, information and modern services.