This undated photo shows a view of the Qianhai Special Zone in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. (LIANG XIASHUN / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Riding high on favorable policies designed to boost collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Qianhai is looking to play a bigger role as a trailblazer of institutional innovation and cross-boundary employment in the post-pandemic era, said Witman Hung wai-man, principal liaison officer for Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority.

Hung told a news conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday that despite a turbulent 2020, Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation Zone saw a 13 percent year-on-year increase in the number of registered companies and a 13.4 percent growth in tax revenue as Shenzhen’s first pilot free-trade zone develops into the “Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone”. 

During the pandemic-ravaged year, Qianhai’s use of foreign capital rose 11.7 percent to US$4.31 billion, accounting for 49.6 percent of Shenzhen’s total and 3 percent of the country’s total. Hong Kong capital contributed 88.3 percent of Qianhai’s foreign investment

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During the pandemic-ravaged year, Qianhai’s use of foreign capital rose 11.7 percent to US$4.31 billion, accounting for 49.6 percent of Shenzhen’s total and 3 percent of the country’s total. Hong Kong capital contributed 88.3 percent of Qianhai’s foreign investment.

Established in Shenzhen as a barren stretch of reclaimed land near the city’s boundary with Hong Kong in 2010, Qianhai welcomed 300 registered Hong Kong-funded enterprises to the district when Hung took up his post in 2014. A year later, that figure rose to 2,000.

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By the end of 2020, Qianhai housed 11,300 Hong Kong-funded companies. Hung said the coronavirus pandemic slowed down the growth in the number of registered enterprises. As Hong Kong’s checkpoints have been closed for more than a year with no timetable for reopening, many Hong Kong-based company owners face difficulties performing the most basic tasks, such as traveling to Shenzhen to open a bank account. 

Hung says that Qianhai can make a difference far beyond the growing number of registered companies. “Looking ahead, the pilot cooperation zone has what it takes to bet big on its role as a trailblazer of institutional innovation and cross-border employment,” he noted.