SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 10, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

On December 6, the Qianhai Forum, themed "New Situation, New Reform, and New Action: Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation to Build a Hub for High-Quality Development of Modern Service Industries", kicked off in Qianhai, Shenzhen. The Forum consisted of a main forum, four parallel forums on financial opening-up and innovation, Shenzhen-Hong Kong technological innovation, rule of law related to foreign affairs, and new cultural industries, as well as a series of strategic events on upgrading the pilot free trade zone. Over 100 representatives from Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, industry leaders, and renowned experts gathered in Qianhai to explore the latest developments in the cooperation zone.
 
Maintaining a vibrant momentum for development
 
With institutional innovation at its core, Qianhai is steadily expanding institutional opening-up in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards. To this end, Qianhai has launched a total of 882 institutional innovation achievements. With the modern service industry as its primary sector, Qianhai is vigorously facilitating the construction of 18 industrial clusters. Statistics released by the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone at the forum show that, in the first three quarters of 2024, its GDP grew by 8.2% and its import and export volume increased by 50.1%. This has indicated a vibrant momentum for development. 
 
Qianhai is systematically upgrading the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub. In cooperation with universities such as the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and City University of Hong Kong, a wide variety of innovation and entrepreneurship projects have been incubated at the Hub. Overall, Qianhai has aimed to become a leading area for deep integration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
 
Further creating an innovative Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation pattern
 
After the expansion of Qianhai, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation has been further enhanced, providing a convenient channel for Hong Kong's modern service enterprises to enter the market of the Chinese mainland and significantly broadening the space for industrial chain cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
 
Mr. Cheuk Wing-hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong SAR Government, said that Qianhai is a major cooperation platform within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Hong Kong is deeply involved in Qianhai's development, with over 9,000 Hong Kong-invested enterprises operating and more than 10,000 Hong Kong residents working and residing in Qianhai. The Hong Kong SAR Government will further fulfill its role as the central city of the GBA and the core engine for regional development. Hong Kong is well poised to advance mutually beneficial integration with Shenzhen and other GBA cities and more actively integrate itself into the overall national development. Leaders in both the government and business sectors are expected to seize the abundant opportunities presented by the GBA's development and embrace win-win cooperation in the GBA, especially Qianhai.
 
Building a hub for the high-quality development of modern service industries facing the future
 
Mr. Zheng Yongnian, Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and President of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai, emphasized that Qianhai must chart a path of high-quality and sustainable development and make its contributions as a "special zone within a special zone" amid the virtuous cycle of expanding opening-up.
 
On December 7, the thematic event of the Qianhai Forum, the 2024 Annual Meeting of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone Research Institute Alliance and Seminar on Deepening the Pilot Free Trade Zone Upgrading Strategy, was held. The event featured the unveiling ceremony of the Institute of International Trade Rules at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and the launch of the 2024 International Trade Rules Observation Report by UIBE. The report summarized global trade and economic developments in 2023, offering valuable insights into the global economic governance system.
 
Source: The Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone 

--BERNAMA