Shenzhen has made great strides in the six years since the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) was implemented, with Shenzhen's cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao in regional integration reaching new heights..
Shenzhen authorities made the remarks on Wednesday at the launch of a weeklong media tour on the groundbreaking developments in and future vision for the Greater Bay Area.
Central government and Shenzhen municipality officials briefed the media on Shenzhen’s advancement since the implementation of the 2019 development plan for the Greater Bay Area. They also emphasized Shenzhen’s pivotal role in fostering connectivity among the Chinese mainland and the two special administrative regions.
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An official from Shenzhen’s Development and Reform Commission said, “Shenzhen, as a key node in the Greater Bay Area, has notched up great achievements in facilitating the region’s development as a regional technology and innovation hub.”
He highlighted the construction of a comprehensive national science center in the region, where the emphasis is on letting innovative enterprises take the lead within a matrix designed to transform scientific and technological results.
Over the past six years, the city’s gross spending on research and development has seen a rise from 4.2 percent to 6.46 percent of the city’s GDP, with business investment accounting for 93.3 percent. With these collective efforts, the city now is China’s top-ranked city for international patent applications under the International Patent System.
In addition to making solid progress in various fields within the city, Shenzhen is also committed to promoting regional cooperation, whether on a global scale or domestically.
On the international stage, Shenzhen seizes every possible opportunity to engage with Belt and Road countries. This includes enhancing its status as an international aviation hub to facilitate access to China for global businesses, as emphasized by officials. Domestically, efforts are underway to consolidate connectivity with other cities in the Greater Bay Area. The Development and Reform Commission of the city’s municipality highlighted its unprecedented levels of collaboration with the two SARs.
According to official data, Shenzhen has established 19 working groups with Hong Kong and 11 with Macao in the past six years, and signed pacts covering education, technology, law and healthcare. In particular, as the most representative platforms for cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, both the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone and the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone are rapidly growing and expanding.
The Qianhai Cooperation Zone is deepening its reforms and openness, already attracting more than 9,200 Hong Kong-registered enterprises. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen branch of the Hetao Cooperation Zone, benefiting from the city’s favorable policies concerning taxation and cross-boundary investments, has also drawn over multiple research institutions to take part in over 200 research projects. Among them are five research centers affiliated with top Hong Kong universities.
The Shenzhen municipal government said it is committed to advancing the development of these key cooperation platforms. The goal is to set a standard for deeper collaboration across the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong and Macao, thereby contributing significantly to the Greater Bay Area’s growth.
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The media tour brings together more than 100 representatives of nearly 30 media outlets on the mainland, and in Hong Kong and Macao, serving as a dynamic platform that unites government officials, corporate leaders and research institutions in demonstrating the region’s economic vitality.
The event began with a meeting at the Shenzhen Municipal Qianhai Administration Bureau, which oversees the development of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. In the afternoon, the journalists visited artificial intelligence (AI) startup EngineAI, as well as two leading incubators — the Shenzhen Modeli Camp AI Ecological Community and Shenzhen Innox — showcasing the region’s thriving technological ecosystem.
A similar media tour last year marked the fifth anniversary of the release of the important guideline on the Greater Bay Area’s development.
Contact the writers at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
