Looking forward after 40 years of massive growth

Shenzhen Talent Park, which opened in 2017, is one of the efforts by the local government to attract professionals and promote exchanges of ideas. TANG SHUQUANFOR CHINA DAILY

Shenzhen seeks to be global leader of innovation in variety of sectors.

A symbol of the country's reform and opening-up, Shenzhen in Guangdong province is a wonderland that has created impressive economic growth over the past four decades.

The southern city, originally a fishing town with a population of just 30,000, became one of China's first four special economic zones in August 1980. It has played a leading role among the four SEZs through a series of incentive policies to attract foreign investment. That investment has spearheaded China's transition from a planned economy to a market-oriented one.

These policies were applied to different sectors, including the managerial autonomy of the companies, taxation, land use, foreign exchange control, marketing style and immigration management.

As a result, outside investment, especially from neighboring Hong Kong, gave a strong impetus to the city's economic development.

According to official figures, the GDP of Shenzhen was less than 200 million yuan ($28.7 million at today's exchange rate) in 1979. Last year, it reached nearly 2.7 trillion yuan, ranking third among cities in the Chinese mainland.

Shenzhen had a population of 13.4 million who had lived in the city for at least six consecutive months by the end of 2019, an increase of 412,200 people from the year before. The average age of the population was 32.

Apart from attracting large multinational companies, the city has nurtured a group of local companies that have gained fame in the global community, including Huawei, Tencent, ZTE and BYD. Another group of companies are growing globally in their sectors, such as drone maker DJI, medical apparatus and instruments supplier Mindray and semiconductor display producer TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology.

The Huaqiangbei commercial area was named after the road of Huaqiang North in Futian district, the city's central business district. This is the site where the dreams of many innovative minds around the world have come true, for they could find every electronic component they needed for their new products and inventions.

Established in 1988, the commercial area along the road with a width of 60 meters and a length of 900 m has been a global production center for electronic products and the biggest distribution center of electronic components.

It has generated a large group of both millionaires and billionaires and served as a hotbed for the development of the city's high technology industry, which has kept its strong innovative capabilities in the new era of growth.

One year ago, Shenzhen was designated by the central government as a pilot demonstrative zone to deepen reform and opening-up for a modern and strong socialist country with Chinese characteristics ahead of other cities.

Its position in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was also highlighted when the plan was revealed in February 2019.

According to detailed guidelines launched by the local government earlier this year, the city will target eight sectors and make itself stand out, even in the Bay Area.

The sectors include an international technological innovation center, the interconnectivity of the financial markets of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the interconnection of infrastructure, a modern industrial system with global competitiveness, better culture and tourism industries, a higher level of civilization, a better environment for work, living and trips and improved performance while taking part in the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

Fan Gang, an economist and president of the China Development Institute, a national think tank, said Shenzhen will take on a bigger historical mission to be a pilot demonstrative zone.

While its experience accumulated over the past 40 years has been practiced in other cities, it is time for the city to set off again on new experiments and endeavors, Fan said.

He suggested the city improve the private economy, better protect the rights of private businesses and make clearer the relations between State-owned enterprises and private companies.

While the local government has been advised to map out incentive measures and regulations to encourage innovation and create an excellent marketing system and capital market for startups, Fan said the city's entire community should be more tolerant of failure in its efforts to innovate.

"Shenzhen does not just belong to China," Fan said. "It belongs to the world."

He said the city is collectively home to more than 20 million people, including migrant workers. This is expected to rise to 30 million in 10 years' time.

This fast growth in population will pose a big challenge to the city. The authorities must provide solutions to develop its medical system, education, transport and maintenance of the urban environment, optimize social management and better protect people who do not hold registered permanent residences, he noted.

Cai Fang, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Shenzhen should be a pilot area to demonstrate China's governance philosophy, wisdom and practical solutions in different fields, including economy, technology, culture and social management.

He suggested that Shenzhen should explore methods of high-quality development, which does not depend on GDP or an economic growth rate.

Another important area is the coordinated development and co-sharing development of the economic society. This requires a breakthrough in social development with an emphasis on basic public services, he said in an interview with a local TV program in Shenzhen.

Contact the writer at chenhong@chinadaily.com.cn