Qianhai to anchor Shenzhen-HK bilateral strengths, says expert

Qianhai will mainly assist the country in exploring reform and opening up with a core focus on Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, and that any policies unrelated to Hong Kong or unlikely to benefit the city will not be pursued, chief Hong Kong and Macau liaison expert for Shenzhen’s Qianhai Authority Gary Wong Chi-him said on Sunday. 

Speaking on a radio program, Wong said that the chapter on Hong Kong and Macau in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly calls for the high-quality construction of four strategic platforms: Qianhai, Nansha, Hengqin and Hetao. Among them, the primary mission of Qianhai, Nansha and Hetao is to support Hong Kong in integrating into and serving the country’s development. 

Wong said that cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong has entered a stage of “deep integration.” While the Hetao area focuses on achieving scientific breakthroughs, Qianhai is intended to industrialize and commercialize those results. 

Wong emphasized that Shenzhen and Hong Kong are not in a competitive situation but are instead highly complementary. He noted that all policies in Qianhai are closely tied to bilateral cooperation, combining Hong Kong’s financial and international advantages with Nanshan’s technology transformation capabilities and Bao'an’s strengths in high-end manufacturing to build a seamless supply chain loop.  

Beyond traditional sectors such as finance and professional services, Qianhai has expanded into six future-oriented industries, including embodied AI robotics, the low-altitude economy, and cell and gene technology, he added. 

More than 10,000 Hong Kong residents lived and worked in Qianhai last year, with over half under the age of 45. In line with the push for STEAM education, the Qianhai Authority launched a youth innovation and technology exchange initiative this year that brings 10,000 Hong Kong secondary school students to visit leading tech firms such as Tencent and SenseTime, where they can learn directly from frontline engineers.

Regarding the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub, Wong explained that the incubator aims to accelerate the growth of startups in the shortest possible time. Once they are ready to pursue IPOs or international expansion, it will guide them to use Hong Kong as their primary base for listing and going global. 

He added that the incubator has shifted from attracting startups with preferential rents to using a selection process. It has nurtured more than 1,000 companies across semiconductors, AI, cultural technology, and sports technology. Plans are also underway for the third phase of the scheme. 

Wong is confident in the innovation and technology prospects of the Greater Bay Area, stating his belief that the region is entirely capable of developing a tech ecosystem that surpasses Silicon Valley in the United States.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓