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October 15, 2020

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Xi hails Shenzhen鈥檚 鈥榤iracle鈥 growth

Source: Agencies | 00:00 UTC+8 October 15, 2020 | Print Edition

CHINESE President Xi Jinping yesterday promised new steps to promote development of China’s biggest tech center, Shenzhen, as the country held a grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in southern Guangdong Province.

Hailing Shenzhen’s development over the past 40 years as “a miracle in the world development history,” Xi said the establishment of SEZs is a great innovative move made by the Communist Party of China and the country in advancing reform and opening-up as well as socialist modernization.

On August 26, 1980, the Standing Committee of the fifth National People’s Congress, the top legislature, approved the establishment of SEZs of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province.

Since then, Shenzhen has transformed from a small backward fishing village into an international metropolis with global influence and a permanent population of over 13 million.

After four decades of rapid growth, Shenzhen now ranks fifth among Asian cities in terms of gross domestic product, which expanded at an annual rate of 20.7 percent to 2.7 trillion yuan (US$400 billion) in 2019 from 270 million yuan in 1980.

In a speech marking the 40th anniversary, Xi called on Shenzhen to build itself into a pilot zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics, set an example for cities of a modern socialist country, increase its capabilities to implement the new development philosophy, build a new pattern to deepen all-round reform and expand opening-up on all fronts, and contribute to the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. Xi’s speech took place in the Qianhai District, which is positioning itself as a hub for cross-border services for the Greater Bay Area, a region that includes Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in China’s Guangdong province, including Shenzhen.

He urged the city to unswervingly implement the new development philosophy, achieve higher-quality development that is more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and more secure, and build itself into a global leader in technological and industrial innovation.

Shenzhen should deepen reform on all fronts, Xi said, noting that the CPC Central Committee supports the city in implementing pilot programs to deepen comprehensive reform.

More autonomy

The Party leadership is issuing more than 60 policy changes or new guidelines, Xi said to an audience of businesspeople and officials, stressing that Shenzhen would have “more autonomy in important areas.”

He also encouraged Shenzhen to expand all-round opening-up, calling for efforts to advance opening-up with institutional guarantees, and explore a more flexible policy system and a more scientific management system in terms of domestic and foreign trade, investment and financing, finance and taxation, financial innovation, as well as personnel exit and entry.

“The world economy is currently facing complicated challenges. By no means should we be stopped by the reversing trends and tides. We should choose the right side of the history to unswervingly expand opening-up in an all-round way,” Xi told the gathering.

Xi emphasized that China would pursue a “dual circulation” model that takes the domestic market as the mainstay while letting domestic and foreign markets boost each other.

Xi stressed modernizing Shenzhen’s urban governance system and capacity with innovation, and solving problems in urban governance with the rule-of-law mindset and methods.

He underlined the solid implementation of the people-centered philosophy of development in the reform and development of SEZs, with efforts to address issues in areas including employment, education, medical care, social security, housing, elderly care, food safety, ecology and environment, and public security.

Meanwhile, Xi asked Shenzhen to take active moves to further promote the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, calling for efforts to synergize economic rules and mechanisms in the three regions and urging wider exchanges and deeper integration among young people in those regions to strengthen their sense of belonging to the motherland.

Shenzhen is cited as the region’s economic engine in government plans to integrate and develop cities at the mouth of Guangdong Province’s Pearl River.

Downtown is a forest of office towers to rival Manhattan or neighboring Hong Kong. The Ping An Finance Center is the world’s fourth-tallest skyscraper at 599 meters. The city also is home to one of the mainland’s two stock exchanges.

Continuous reform and wider opening-up were key terms in Xi’s speech, or as some experts pointed out, the southern Chinese city is the best example that shows the need for further opening-up.

“As China’s first special economic zone and through the launch of a market-driven scheme that supported the attraction of a large number of foreign investments, the city has become instrumental in making China a prominent player in today’s global economy,” commented Matteo Giovannini, a Beijing-based finance professional.

The city is home to various leading Chinese tech companies, including telecoms giant Huawei and technology conglomerate Tencent, two of the major companies that the US has been putting pressure on in the most recently souring China-US ties.

The speech in Shenzhen followed visits to nearby cities of Chaozhou and Shantou, where Xi emphasized industrial upgrades and innovation.

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