Beijing has released a plan to turn Shenzhen, the hi-tech hub neighbouring Hong Kong, into a “core engine” of reform that it hopes will power growth and innovation in the Greater Bay Area, reported the South China Morning Post.
It comes just before President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver an “important address” during his visit to the city on Wednesday marking 40 years since it was set up as a special economic zone, said the SCMP.
The plan charting development from 2020 to 2025 gives Shenzhen more autonomy in areas such as land use, technology and innovation, the big data economy and hiring foreign professionals.
Covering a wide range of areas – from financial market reforms to the development of a data market – the plan also calls for
Shenzhen to play a leading role in the Greater Bay Area. The development zone aims to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and seven others in Guangdong province into an economic and business hub, and has been compared with San Francisco and Tokyo’s bay areas.