SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 12, 2022 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–On December 9, 2022, the Shenzhen Global Investment Promotion Conference was held. It led to the negotiation and signing of 315 project contracts, including those with Amazon, Intel, and Maersk, encompassing a total planned investment of 879 billion yuan.

From 2019 to 2021, the Shenzhen Global Investment Promotion Conference witnessed the cumulative negotiation and signing of more than 600 projects; these have resulted in a total intended investment of more than 2 trillion yuan. In the past four years, along with steadily rising investment, a large number of projects of strategic emerging industries, such as new energy, electronic information, ecological protection, biomedicine, and new materials, have been established and developed in Shenzhen.

Multinational corporations have been the eyewitnesses of China’s opening up to the outside world and important participants in China’s economic and social development. At this year’s conference, foreign investment projects covered various fields, including advanced manufacturing, new-generation information technology, biomedicine and health, marine industry, and modern services.

“We plan to invest in the construction of, in the Yantian Comprehensive Bonded Zone, an omnichannel, intelligent, and green integrated logistics center that will influence the Asia-Pacific region in a positive way. We will work with Shenzhen to explore the confirmation of carbon rights, investigate the construction of carbon trading, and look into the possibilities of increasing input in green fuel,” said Caroline Wu, Managing Director of Greater China of Maersk.

Maersk represents many foreign businesses that have contributed to the development of Shenzhen and will progress along with this City of Innovation.

During the investment conference, 48 major projects, with international influence and core competitiveness, were signed. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu and other well-known entrepreneurs called on the global market, “To invest in Shenzhen is to invest in the future!”

“Once a border town and now an international metropolis, Shenzhen continues to create miracles,” said James Chang, Managing Partner of Regional Economic Clusters and South Markets of PwC China. Today, nearly 360 Fortune 500 companies from 173 countries and regions have invested in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen’s governmental departments, companies, and associations are also constantly going out and getting deeply linked with global investors. The activities of this conference cover 16 cities outside of China.

Throughout the Tokyo session, representatives, from the Shenzhen Economic and Trade Office in Japan and the Japan-China Economic Association, signed a letter of intent to jointly promote exchange and cooperation between Shenzhen and Japanese businesses in the fields of new energy, energy conservation, and environmental protection.

“We once again extend an invitation to global businessmen: Invest in Shenzhen, Build a Winning Future,” said Zhang Feimeng, Director of the Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality. He said that Shenzhen will continue to strengthen the protection of foreign investment, improve foreign investment services, and facilitate and deepen investment and cooperation by holding a series of activities, including policy presentations and investment promotions.

Statistics show that in the first 10 months of 2022, Shenzhen actually utilized $9.179 billion of foreign investment, up 4.3% from the previous year.

The projects signed on site cover such fields as new-generation information technology, digital fashion, green and low-carbon industries, biomedicine and health, and marine industry. Wang Rui, Chair of Intel China, stated that Intel’s science and technology innovation center in the Greater Bay Area will soon open in Shenzhen.

According to Frank Muhlon, the Chief Executive Officer of ABB’s E-mobility Business, which has previously invested in Shenzhen, Shenzhen is an open and inclusive city with thriving high-tech industries. Among these industries in particular, new energy vehicles are developing with strong momentum.

Among the 20 strategic emerging industry clusters and the 8 future industries that Shenzhen plans to prioritize, many have performed well in the first three quarters. For example, intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) grew 44.5%, new materials 22.6%, high-end medical devices 14.1%, and the marine economy 10.1%.

According to Wang Jun, Deputy Director of Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the business environment is an important part of the city’s core competitiveness and attractiveness, and Shenzhen has always regarded the optimization of the business environment as the No. 1 reform project. This year, Shenzhen introduced the Implementation Plan for Shenzhen as a Pilot City of Innovative Business Environment Improvement, and initiated the Greater Bay Area combined port program. Until now, Shenzhen Port has opened a total of 26 combined port points, that cover nearly 90% of the cities in the Greater Bay Area.

Apart from attracting businesses and investment, Shenzhen has spared no effort to attract talent. The event on December 9 saw guests promoting Shenzhen and welcoming entrepreneurs, investors, and scientists in “road show”. Last month, the well-known structural biologist Yan Ning announced in Shenzhen that she would resign from her teaching position overseas to work full-time to help create the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation. Statistics show that in 2022, Shenzhen’s full-time academicians grew by 12 to reach 86, overseas returnees increased by 8,384 to break the 190,000-mark, and the total number of high-level talent, from home and abroad, reached 22,000.

According to Zeng Yi, Chairman of China Electronics Corporation (CEC), whose headquarters were moved to Shenzhen last year, Shenzhen has an advantage of a talent highland. CEC had 11,000 openings according to its original global school recruitment program, yet nearly 130,000 resumes were received, which was 12 times that of the openings. “In particular, the number of high-end talent, applying for the Future Scientists Program that we are concerned about, is about 25-30 times that of the openings.”

“Shenzhen is the epitome of the strength, stability, resilience, and great potential of China’s economy,” said Xue Zhandong, President of the Shenzhen Meso-economy Institute. He said China’s determination to expand its high-level opening-up would not change, and the door of China’s opening-up would only get wider and wider.

Source: The Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality