Editor’s Note: On Aug. 26, 1980, Shenzhen, once an obscure fishing village in Guangdong Province, was designated as China’s first special economic zone. Over the past 44 years, this city has rapidly transformed into a thriving metropolis, achieving remarkable successes across various domains. Shenzhen Daily is launching a series of reports to celebrate the milestone.
Chen Siqi vankochensq@163.com INNOVATION is the primary driving force powering Shenzhen’s development. Known as “China’s Silicon Valley,” the city stands at the forefront of China’s technological and industrial transformation. Global industry giants such as DJI, Huawei, and Tencent have their roots in Shenzhen, and their presence has proven instrumental to the development of cutting-edge sectors like autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and 5G communications. As of 2023, Shenzhen was home to more than 1,330 of China’s 12,000 autonomous vehicle-related firms, the highest concentration in any Chinese city. Notable developments include autonomous buses in Pingshan District, trial operations of unmanned delivery vehicles at the SEG ECO Park in Longgang, and the use of 5G and autonomous technologies at Mawan Smart Port, the world’s first large-scale automated port. Policy support fuels growth The rapid expansion of Shenzhen’s strategic emerging industries can be attributed to proactive planning and effective support measures. As early as 2009, Shenzhen took the lead in China by formulating a development plan for strategic emerging industries, identifying seven key sectors including next-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, low-carbon development, and biomedicine. By 2019, the added value of these industries had surpassed 1 trillion yuan (US$140.26 billion). In 2022, Shenzhen introduced guidelines to strengthen strategic emerging industrial clusters, targeting 20 globally competitive sectors and nurturing eight future industries. Driven by sectors like software, new energy, the low-altitude economy, and intelligent robotics, the added value of these industries had risen to 1.45 trillion yuan by 2023, accounting for 41.9% of the city’s GDP. The city released updated guidelines in March 2024 to further develop strategic emerging industrial clusters, projecting that the added value of these industries will exceed 1.6 trillion yuan by 2025. Wang Yunxing, director of the Public Economy Research Institute at the Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute, emphasizes the need to cultivate scenarios in which new technologies can be used. Wang advocates for exploring applications and demonstrations of new technologies and creating realistic application scenarios in areas like Guangming Science City and the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone. These efforts would focus on promoting the development and application of innovative products and service experiments. Modernizing the service sector “After more than 40 years of reform and opening up, Shenzhen’s development hinges on three key elements — innovation, talent, and internationalization,” said Xia Wenbin, a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Commerce and professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology. Shenzhen is modernizing its service industry in many ways, including the use of digital technologies to transform traditional industries. For example, a collaboration between iFashion Cloud and Huawei Cloud to create an intelligent manufacturing plant has enabled the iFashion Cloud clothing factory in Longhua District to rapidly produce customized clothing. Furthermore, realizing that industrial software has often relied on overseas products that lack core technologies, the Longgang District Government has introduced measures to encourage local manufacturing firms to use domestic software. This initiative has resulted in the growth of several industrial software companies in Longgang that offer efficient and cost-effective solutions. Improving biz environment Shenzhen’s modern service industry is not only addressing domestic challenges but also expanding its global reach. The city is enhancing its legal and intellectual property service capabilities to create an internationalized, business-friendly environment. Since opening in March 2023, the Shenzhen One-Stop Dispute Resolution Center for Hong Kong, Macao, and Foreign-Related Commercial Cases has handled 22,000 cases of cross-border disputes. The city has also established the Hetao International Mediation Center and joint law firms from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao in a bid to enhance legal services for international firms and improve Shenzhen’s business environment. In 2023, Shenzhen’s modern service industry generated an added value of 1.645 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.2% year on year. The city’s strategic focus on strengthening innovation and services has positioned it as a leader in technological and industrial transformation with a high-quality, internationally competitive environment. | 