August 30, 2023
SHENZHEN – The State Council issued a plan on Tuesday to boost the high-quality development of the Chinese mainland component of a sci-tech innovation cooperation zone jointly developed by the southern tech hub Shenzhen and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone aims to achieve synergistic development with Hong Kong parks and facilitate the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The plan also sets objectives for 2035, including comprehensive collaboration with Hong Kong’s parks, leading global levels of tech innovation, facilitating the orderly cross-border flow of innovation elements, fostering world-class innovation entities and supporting the construction of the Greater Bay Area’s international tech innovation center
The plan stipulates that by 2025, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will establishan efficient collaboration mechanism for science and technology innovation. The two cities will also enhance cross-border infrastructure connectivity, including completing the construction of the Huanggang Port.
The plan also sets objectives for 2035, including comprehensive collaboration with Hong Kong’s parks, leading global levels of tech innovation, facilitating the orderly cross-border flow of innovation elements, fostering world-class innovation entities and supporting the construction of the Greater Bay Area’s international tech innovation center.
The plan outlines four key tasks: First, work with Hong Kong to promote international scientific and technological innovation and build a first-class scientific and technological platform. Second, build industrial pilot bases to advance the new generation of information technology and biomedicine. Third, build an international mechanism for scientific and technological innovation to facilitate cross-border flows of personnel, capital and data. And last, building a global platform for science and technology cooperation and strengthen international exchanges and talent training.
Calling for coordinated promotion of major policies by all departments, the plan designated the National Development and Reform Commission to follow up and supervise the implementation of planning tasks, and organize timely evaluations. In a statement welcoming the plan on Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the promulgation of the development plan will inject new momentum and set a new stage for the collaboration on innotech development by Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
He pledged that Hong Kong will continue to collaborate with Shenzhen to promote the advantages of the cooperation zone under the principle of “one zone, two parks” underpinned by the “one country, two systems” principle.
“We will strive to implement measures to promote a cross-boundary flow of various innovation elements. This will enable the cooperation zone to serve as the bridgehead for intensive I&T cooperation between the two places, and allow Hong Kong to give full play to its unique advantage of ‘enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world’,” Lee said.
Lee said that Hong Kong and Shenzhen have made progress in the development of the cooperation zone.
For example, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp launched the GBA InnoExpress in Shenzhen Park in July 2022 to nurture and help innotech startups and enterprises. The Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch has started operating and the buildings in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park will be completed from the end of 2024.
Through investment promotion and leveraging on market forces, the construction of high-quality research and industrial facilities will be accelerated,” Lee said.
The cooperation zone straddles the Shenzhen River, consisting of a park of about 300 hectares on the
Shenzhen side, and another park of 87 hectares on the Hong Kong side.