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Shenzhen’s development since China’s reform and opening-up profound

The Communist Party of China (CPC) event ‘In Dialogue with World Political Parties’ is being held in Shenzhen from From May 26th to 28th.

The event features a meeting on the “Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in Guangdong Province”, and showcases Guangdong’s remarkable progresses in various aspects especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC.

Newsgd.com will release a special report on Shenzhen, the spearhead of China’s reform and opening-up movement, focusing on Shenzhen’s development, its spirit of innovation, and the people working in this thriving city.

Shekou enterprises grow rapidly over the past 39 years

The port at Shekou

As the result of a land reclamation project in Shenzhen the port in Shekou was built in 1978. China Merchants Group (CMG), a 146 year old state-owned corporation, then established the Shekou Industrial Zone, China’s first export processing zone.

CMG’s industrial zone has been home to a large number of companies over the past 39 years, such as, China Merchants Bank, China’s first joint-stock commercial bank wholly owned by corporate legal entities, Ping An Insurance, China’s first commercial insurer established by corporate legal entities, and China International Marine Containers, the world's largest manufacturer of tank containers.

CMG is now a major contributor to Shenzhen and Guangdong’s economy. “CMG started business in Shekou, and serves as Shenzhen’s Special Economic Zone’s pathfinder through the Shekou Industrial Zone,” said Li Jianhong, chairman of the board of CMG.

Shekou Industrial Zone

Thus far, CMG’s businesses are all clustered in Shenzhen with 12 secondary enterprises including China Merchants Shekou Holdings, China Merchants Bank and China Merchants Securities. They have grown together with the city and are further expanding into the international market.

Li Jianhong said CMG’s business performance hit a record high in 2017, with its revenue reaching 584.4 billion RMB. And the company had 7.3 trillion RMB in assets by the end of 2017, ranking first among all the SOEs.


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In 1995, at the age of just 29, Wang Chuanfu founded BYD in Shenzhen. Starting out as a manufacturer of nickel-cadmium batteries, BYD expanded into auto manufacturing after acquisition of a state-owned automobile company, and has recently been exploring the design, R&D and manufacture of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and rail transit systems.

BYD was the No. 1 selling NEV brand worldwide from 2015 to 2017. This new entrant in the field is providing the world with green solutions through its solar farms, energy storage stations and electric vehicles.

Going global

Along the Red Sea coast, thousands of miles away from Shenzhen, the Djibouti International Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is under construction. CMG aims to replicate its successful experience in Shenzhen and promote Djibouti’s economy with this project.

Li Jianhong said that previously CMG mainly engaged in the import business, but its focus has been shifted into going global since the 18th Session of the CPC.

“CMG is now actively participating in the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, operating in 44 countries and regions, and sparing no efforts to establish itself as a globally competitive and world-leading conglomerate,” she said.


 

Djibouti International Free Trade Zone

Djibouti FTZ is the first overseas project trying to duplicate the success of the Shekou model. After CMG invested in the Port of Djibouti in 2012, Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port was built just a few miles away from the old port. The new port started operation in May 2017 while the old port was still undergoing reconstruction.

The CMG project is working to build a 48-square-kilometer (19 sq. miles) FTZ in Djibouti. Once completed, its GDP is expected to exceed 4 billion US dollars and is expected to create over 100,000 jobs. The country is poised to become a hub for regional shipping, logistics and trade in East Africa.

To close, Li added that CMG is presently working to introduce the Shekou model to other countries, such as Belarus, Sri Lanka, Togo, and Tanzania.

 

Reported by Jasmine Yin, Hu Liangguang, Wang Jin, Li Ronghua

Edited by Wing Zhang, Simon Haywood

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